BEHIND   THE   VEIL   IN    PERSIA 
AND   TURKISH    ARABIA 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HER  HUSBAND  IN  BAKHTIAN  COSTUME 

Dr.  Hume-Griffith's  dress  is  that  of  a  chief,  and  is  of  blue  cloth  lined  with  red  flannel :  and  the 
lady's  a  of  richly-brocaded  velvet,  and  her  head-coverings  are  of  very  pretty  muslin,  embroidered 
I1      with  silk. 


BEHIND  THE  VEIL 

IN  PERSIA 
AND  TURKISH  ARABIA 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  AN  ENGLISHWOMAN'S 

EIGHT  TEARS'  RESIDENCE  AMONGST 

THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  EAST 

BY 

M.  E.  HUME-GRIFFITH 


WITH  NARRATIVES  OF  EXPERIENCES  IN  BOTH  COUNTRIES 

BY 

A.  HUME-GRIFFITH,  M.D.,  D.P.H. 


With  37  Illustrations  and  a  Map 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

LONDON  :   SEELEY  &>  CO.   LTD. 
1909 


Printed  by  BALLANTYNE,  HANSON  6*  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press,  Edinburgh 


I      DEDICATE 
THIS   BOOK 

TO 

HUSBAND 

IN  LOVING   REMEMBRANCE    OF 
EIGHT   HAPPY   YEARS 

1900-1908 


2031480 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  endeavoured  in  this  book  to  give  some 
account  of  that  inner  life  of  the  East  of  which 
a  traveller,  however  keen-sighted  and  intelligent, 
seldom  gains  more  than  a  passing  glimpse.  In 
a  residence  of  eight  years  in  Persia  and  Turkish 
Arabia  I  have  become  intimate  with  a  large  circle 
of  friends  whose  life  is  passed  behind  the  veil,  and 
as  the  wife  of  a  medical  missionary  I  have  had 
unusual  opportunities  of  winning  their  confidence 
and  becoming  acquainted  with  their  thoughts.  Of 
direct  missionary  effort  I  have  said  very  little,  but 
I  hope  that  the  picture  I  have  given  may  arouse 
interest  in  lives  spent  amongst  surroundings  so 
different  from  our  own. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one,  however  unversed 
in  politics,  who  has  lived  so  long  in  Mesopotamia, 
not  to  be  deeply  interested  in  the  future  of  the 
country.  While  all  Europe  has  been  filled  with 
astonishment  at  the  bloodless  revolution  in  Turkey, 
we  who  have  become  familiar  with  its  inner  life  are 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  admiration  and  something 
akin  to  awe.  Whatever  misgivings  there  may  be 
as  to  the  permanence  of  this  reformation  we  hope 
and  trust  that  it  will  endure. 

Of  one  imminent  change  the  effect  is  likely  to 
be  far-reaching.  The  new  government  has  secured 

the  services  of  Sir  William  Wilcox  as  their  adviser 

vii 


PREFACE 

in  great  irrigation  schemes.  Irrigation  in  Mesopo- 
tamia will  change  the  whole  face  of  the  country ; 
vast  stretches  of  desert  will  be  transformed  into  a 
garden,  ruined  villages  will  be  restored,  a  new  king- 
dom may  be  born,  and  Babylon  possibly  rebuilt. 
Mosul,  practically  on  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh, 
will  become  easy  of  access  from  Europe  by  means 
of  the  Baghdad  railway  and  the  restored  navigation 
of  the  Tigris.  Its  waste  places  may  be  filled  with 
corn,  and  the  city  be  crowned  once  more  with  some 
of  its  ancient  glory. 

I  should  like  to  take  this  opportunity  of  thank- 
ing all  those  who  have  kindly  allowed  me  to  use 
their  photographs,  amongst  them  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Stileman,  Dr.  Saati  of  Mosul,  and  the  Publishing 
Department  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Brown's  valuable 
book  entitled  "  A  Year  amongst  the  Persians "  for 
information  on  the  Babi  religion,  and  to  Sir  A.  H. 
Layard's  classical  work  on  the  excavations  of  Nineveh, 
which  I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  consult. 

M.  E.  H.-G. 


Vlll 


CONTENTS 

PART    I 
CHAPTER  I 

EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

PAGE 

Start  for  Persia — Arrival  at  Isphahan — Departure  for  Kerman — The 
Land  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun — A  rainy  day  and  its  effects — Eclipse 
— Locusts — Sand-storms — Land  of  cats — Modes  of  conveyance — 
Inhabitants 17 

CHAPTER  II 

HERMAN 

Short  history  of  Kerman — Its  overthrow — City  of  beggars — Story  of  the 

fort — The  jackal's  "  tale  of  woe  " 30 

CHAPTER  III 

PERSIAN   INDUSTRIES 

Carpet-making — How  to  tell  a  good  carpet — How  to  make  a  carpet — 
The  cry  of  the  children — Shawl  manufactures — Calico-printing — 
Brasswork  —  Agricultural  industries  —  Water  disputes  —  KanSts 
— Poppy  crops — Wheat  and  corn — Tobacco-growing  ...  40 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE   CLIMATE   OF   PERSIA 

Resht,  Teheran,  Isphahan — Dryness  of  atmosphere — Cellars — Roof  life 
— Children  attacked  by  jackals — Chequered  history  of  work  in 
Kerman .50 

CHAPTER  V 

HOLIDAYS    IN   PERSIA 

How  to  ensure  a  prosperous  journey — Natanz — Astonishment  of  natives 
at  sight  of  hairpins — Pulivagoon— Mahoon— AliabSd — Prince  under 
canvas — Visit  from  a  Persian  princess — A  Persian  deer  hunt  .  .  59 

CHAPTER  VI 

SOCIAL   LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

Kerman— House-hunting  and  building— White  ants — Housekeeping  in 
Kerman — Servant  question — Truth  v.  falsehood — Abdul  Fateh — 
Bagi  —  Recreations  —  Some  exciting  rides  —  Persian  etiquette — 

Dinner  at  the  governor's 71 

ix 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEK  VII 

THE   WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

PAGE 

Home  Life — Anderoon,  women's  quarters — Jealousy  in  the  anderoon — 
Anderoon  of  Khan  Baba  Khan — Two  days  in  an  anderoon — H.R.  H. 
Princess  Hamadan^  Sultane — Visit  to  the  anderoon  of  H.R.H.  the 
Zil-es-Sultan 84 

CHAPTER  VIII 

MORE   ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

Costumes — Wedding  festivities — Wedding  dinner — Kindness  of  Persian 
husbands — Story  of  brutality — Divorce — Aids  to  beauty — Degrada- 
tion and  cruelty  of  women .95 

CHAPTER  IX 

SOME    POINTS    IN    THE   MOSLEM    FAITH 

Fasts  and  feasts — Seyyids,  Dervishes,  Mullahs — Legends  of  the  drown- 
ing mullah,  and  the  yard-square  hole 106 


The  Bab  and  Babism — Short  sketch  of  life  of  the  B£b — His  imprison- 
ment and  execution— Parsees,  or  Zoroastrians — Persecutions  of 
Parsees  in  seventh  century — Sacred  writings  of  Parsees,  Zend- 
avesta  —  Fire-worshipping  —  Fire  temples  —  Holy  fire  —  Parsee 
wedding — Costume  of  women — Death  customs — Burial  customs  .  116 


Songs  of  the  desert— Sunsets,  sunrises,  mirages — Illness  in  the  desert — 
Mehman  khanehs,  caravanserais — Chappa  khanehs — Lost  in  the 
desert — Its  cruelties  and  sadness 130 

CHAPTER  XH 

PERSIAN    MEDICAL   MISSIONS 

The  need  of  them — Work  in  Isphahan — The  "little  devil"  transformed 
into  a  boy — Amputation — Brothers  in  adversity — H.R.H.  Zil-es- 
Sultan  as  a  patient — Fanaticism  overcome 140 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PIONEER    MEDICAL   MISSION   WORK    IN    KERMAN 

Waiting  for  drugs  and  instruments — Native  assistant  proves  a  broken 
reed — First  operation  in  Kerman — An  anxious  moment — Success 
— Doctrine  of  "savab"  convenient  to  the  Moslem — Fanaticism 
tempered  with  prudence — Opium  slaves — Persian  therapeutics — 
Persian  quacks  and  their  methods — Sure  way  of  curing  cancer — 

Hysteria 151 

X 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIV 

MEDICAL   MISSION   WORK    IN   YEZD 

PAGE 

A  hospital — A   friendly  governor — A  suspicious  case — Superstition — 

The  opium  habit — A  case  of  cataract — We  return  to  England  .        .     164 

PART  II 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   CITY   OF   NINEVEH 

The  fast  of  Jonah — The  bridge  of  boats — Traditions  as  to  ancient 
history  of  Mosul — Elkos,  birthplace  of  Nahum  the  prophet — 
Shurgat — Climate  of  Mosul — Cultivation  and  industries — Import- 
ance of  Mosul 173 

CHAPTER  II 

THE   PEOPLE   OF   MOSUL 

Population — Moslems — Christians — Chaldeans — Nestorians — Jacobites 
— Arabs — Kurds — Jews — Yezidees— Recreations — Warfare  of  the 
slingers — Hammam  Ali— The  recreation  ground  of  Mosul  men  and 
women 186 

CHAPTER   III 

THE    RIVER   TIGRIS 

Ancient  historical  interest — Garden  of  Eden — Origin  of  name  unknown 
—  Swiftness  —  Sources  —  Navigation  —  Keleqs  —  Bathing,  fishing, 
washing — Crossing  rivers 198 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE   CHILDREN   OF   MOSUL 

Spoiling  process — Despair  of  the  parents — The  "  god"  of  the  hareem — 
Death  by  burning — Festivities  at  birth  of  boy — Cradles  and  cradle 
songs — School  life — Feast  in  honour  of  a  boy  having  read  the 
Koran  through — "Only  a  girl" — Girl  life — Girl  victims  of  Naseeb 
— Marriage 208 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  MOSLEM   WOMEN    OF   MOSUL 

Beauty  behind  the  veil — Types  of  beauty — My  dear  old  friend  of  110 
years  of  age — Aids  to  beauty  described — Pretty  children — Beauty 
tainted  with  sin  —  Imprisonment  of  women  —  Peeps  into  some 
bareems — Warm  receptions — A  visit  from  the  ladies  of  a  select 
hareem — Love  the  magic  key  to  open  hearts 219 

CHAPTER  VI 

MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

No  home  life — Women  equal  with  the  beasts — Evils  of  divorce — Naseeb 
— The  will  of  God — Truth  and  falsehood — Honesty  prevalent — A 
thief  caught — Swearing  and  anti-swearing — Fighting — Hair-tear- 
ing and  biting — Hammam,  the  ladies'  club 231 

xi 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VII 

CUSTOMS   OF   MOSUL 

PAGE 

Wedding  ceremonies— Great  expense  to  parents — Method  of  procedure 

— Funeral  customs — Customs  at  birth — Some  other  customs   .        .    244 

CHAPTER  VIII 

DREAMS   AND   VISIONS 

Ezekiel's  vision  by  the  river  Cbebar — Our  vision  by  the  river  Khabour 
— Eivers  identical  —  "A  wheel  within  a  wheel"  —  Babylonish 
emblem  of  divinity — Origin  of  the  cherubim — Dream  of  a  woman 
suffering  from  cataract — Effect  of  dream  on  her  character — Watch 
and  chain  recovered  by  means  of  a  "  faked  "  dream — Illustration  of 
the  doctrine  of  Kismet  or  Naseeb — "  Ghosts  "  in  our  compound — 
Atmosphere  of  ghosts  bad  for  fowls 257 

CHAPTER  IX 

MANNERS    AND   SUPERSTITIONS    IN   MOSUL 

Characteristics  of  inhabitants  of  Mosul — Social  habits— Love  of  drink 
— An  effectual  cure — Gambling — Tel  Kaif :  a  story  of  Uncle  Goro 
— The  Angel  of  Death,  and  other  titles — Difficulties  over  name  and 
age — Some  superstitions — Effect  of  scent  on  women— Birds  of  good 
omen — Thieves — Sheep-killing — Sheikh  Matti — An  angel's  visit — 
Medical  superstitions — Cure  for  hydrophobia  .....  269 

CHAPTER  X 

THE     YEZIDEES 

Gratitude  to  the  English — Persecutions — "  Devil- worshippers  " — Sun 
and  fire  worship — Priesthood — A  visit  to  Sheikh  Adi — Peacock 
wands — A  sacred  shrine 284 

CHAPTER  XI 

TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

Monotony  of  desert  travelling — A  puppy  and  a  kitten  tragedy — Accident 
by  the  river  Euphrates — Riots  in  Mosul — Robberies  and  murder 
excited  by  love  of  gold 294 


Desert  blossoms  as  a  rose — Flowers  of  the  desert — Arabs,  their  occupa- 
tion and  women — Arab  dancing— Robbers  of  the  desert — An  army 
of  10,000 — Five  hundred  armed  men — False  alarms — Lost  in  the 
desert — Delights  and  disturbances  of  travelling  ....  307 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PIONEER   MEDICAL   MISSION   WORK    IN   MOSUL   (NINEVEH) 

Winning  the  confidence  of  the  people — Native  surgery — Difficulties  to 
be  overcome — Backward  patients — Encouraging  work — Prevalent 
diseases — Lunatics — Possible  future  of  Mesopotamia  .  .  .  317 

xii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

THE  AUTHOR  AND  HER  HUSBAND  IN  BAKHTIAN  COSTUME       Frontispiece 

PERSIAN  CONVEYANCES 26 

A  HALT  FOR  LUNCH 26 

A  NOVEL  DRYING  GROUND 46 

PERSIAN  MODE  OP  IRRIGATION 46 

A  "CHIMNEY"  OF  YEZD 54 

A  KORSI  OR  HEATING  CONTRIVANCE 54 

HOUSE-BUILDING  IN  PERSIA 72 

PERSIAN  SHOPS 72 

SCENE  FROM  THE  ROOF  OF  OUR  HOUSE  AT  KERMAN  .       .       . ,     .  76 

A  STREET  IN  KERMAN 76 

THE  MOSQUE  GATE,  CITY  OF  KERMAN 86 

A  MOUNTAIN  PASS 132 

A  CARAVANSERAI 132 

A  VERY  ANCIENT  BRIDGE 142 

A  TYPICAL  STREET  IN  BAGHDAD 142 

USING  THE  X  RAYS  IN  JULFA  HOSPITAL 148 

A  WARD  IN  THE  JULFA  HOSPITAL 148 

OPIUM  MAKING 158 

THE  RICH  BEGGAR 158 

xiii 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOB 

TYPES  OP  PERSIAN  JEWS 166 

THE  WATER  SQUARE 166 

OUR  HOME  IN  NINEVEH 174 

A  BRIDGE  OF  BOATS 176 

THE  BRIDGE  op  BOATS  OVER  THE  FROZEN  TIGRIS      ....  180 

A  PICNIC  PARTY 188 

MUTRAR  PAULUS,  SYRIAN  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  BISHOP  .       .       .       .192 

DR.  HUME-GRIFFITH'S  STUDY  IN  MOSUL 210 

OUR  DRAWING-ROOM  IN  JULPA 210 

A  GROUP  OP  PERSIAN  GIRLS 216 

THE  CAMERA  IN  MOSUL 222 

TIRED  OP  PLAY  AT  A  PICNIC 222 

AN  ITINERANT  COOK  PREPARING  KABOBS 224 

BREAD-MAKING 240 

A  MOSUL  BRIDE 246 

A  WONDERFUL  VISION 259 

TRAVELLING  IN  WINTER 296 


xiv 


PART    I 

"&>,  after  the  sore  torments  of  the  route, 
Toothache  and  headache,  and  the  ache  of  mind, 
And  huddled  sleep  and  smarting  wakefulness, 
And  night  and  day,  and  hunger  sick  at  food, 
And  twenty-fold  relays,  and  packages 
To  be  unlocked,  and  passports  to  be  found, 
And  heavy  well-kept  landscape — we  are  glad 
Because  we  entered  (Persia)  in  the  Sun." 

D.  G.  ROSSETTI. 


BEHIND  THE  VEIL 

IN  PERSIA  AND  TURKISH  ARABIA 


CHAPTER  I 

EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

Start  for  Persia — Arrival  at  Isphahan — Departure  for  Kerman — The  Land  of 
the  Lion  and  the  Sun — A  rainy  day  and  its  effects — Eclipse — Locusts — 
Sand-storms — Land  of  cats — Modes  of  conveyance — Inhabitants. 

"  'Tis  the  sight  of  a  lifetime  to  behold 
The  great  shorn  sun  as  you  see  it  now 
Across  eight  miles  of  undulant  gold 
That  widens  landward,  weltered  and  rolled 
With  patches  of  shadow  and  crimson  stains." 

LOWELL. 

"  Shadow  maker,  shadow  slayer,  arrowing  light  from  clime  to  clime." 

LORD  TENNYSON. 

OUR  life  in  Persia  extended  over  a  period  of  three 
years,  dating  from  the  spring  of  1900  to  that 
of  1903. 

It  was  with  great  joy  I  heard  the  news,  early  in 
February  of  1900,  that  my  husband  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  to  open 
medical  work  in  Kerman,  and  that  we  were  to  start 
almost  at  once.  Within  a  month  we  were  married, 
had  bought  our  outfit,  bid  sorrowful  farewells  to  our 
relations  and  friends,  and  started  for  the  romantic 
land  of  Persia.  From  London  to  Isphahan  took  us 
just  nine  weeks,  as  we  were  delayed  by  illness  for 
some  weeks  both  in  Russia  and  in  the  Persian  Desert. 

17  B 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

However,  on  9th  May  we  entered  the  beautiful  city 
of  Isphahan,  to  find  a  warm  welcome  awaiting  us  from 
friends  there.  This  place  will  always  have  a  very 
warm  corner  hi  my  heart,  for  it  was  there  we  made 
our  first  home.  The  doctor  in  charge  of  the  work  at 
Julfa  (the  Christian  quarter  of  Isphahan)  having  left 
on  furlough,  my  husband  was  asked  to  remain  there 
till  his  return,  which  he  accordingly  did.  It  was  not 
till  the  following  spring  that  we  left  for  Kerman. 
Thus  our  first  impressions  of  this  land  of  light  and 
darkness  were  gathered  from  Isphahan  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood. There  is  no  after  time  so  full  of  interest 
to  those  who  live  abroad  as  the  first  year  spent  in  a 
new  life  and  country,  gleaning  fresh  ideas,  seeing 
new  sights,  gaining  experiences  often  dearly  bought, 
but  which  must  be  purchased  ere  the  newcomer  can 
settle  down  to  life  in  the  East  with  any  comfort  or 
peace  of  mind. 

The  native  servants  love  to  obtain  posts  with 
fresh  comers,  knowing  that  for  the  first  few  months, 
at  any  rate,  they  will  have  an  exceedingly  good 
time,  being  able  to  make  a  huge  meddqal  (profit) 
from  the  unsuspecting  Feringhi.  I  sigh  to  think 
of  the  many  ways  in  which  we  were  cheated  those 
first  few  months  of  our  life  in  Persia,  but  no  one 
breathed  a  word  to  us,  realising  that  our  eyes 
would  be  opened  only  too  soon,  and  that  ex- 
perience was  the  most  effectual  teacher.  It  is  a 
strange  fact  that  all  housekeepers  new  to  the  land 
think  their  servants  are  perfect  till  they  find  out, 
perhaps  when  too  late,  their  foolish  delusion. 

From  the  very  first  my  heart  went  out  in  affec- 
tion to  the  dear  Moslem  women,  and  now,  after 

18 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

eight  years  spent  amongst  them,  I  can  truly  say 
that  my  love  has  deepened,  and  my  sympathies  be- 
come enlarged,  for  these  charming  but,  alas,  too 
often  unhappy  followers  of  Mohammed. 

Our  knowledge  of  Persia  extends  especially  to 
three  cities,  in  each  of  which  we  spent  a  year. 
Isphahan,  as  we  have  seen,  was  our  first  home,  then 
came  a  year  at  Kerman,  a  distance  of  some  500 
miles  separating  the  two  cities.  Finally  we  spent 
a  very  happy  year  at  Yezd,  that  City  of  Sand,  situ- 
ated midway  between  Isphahan  and  Kerman.  Of 
each  of  these  cities  we  shall  hear  more  in  other 
chapters. 

Persia  has  well  been  called  the  Land  of  the 
Lion  and  the  Sun.  Certainly  the  latter  name  is 
well  deserved,  for  the  sun  is  almost  always  shining, 
and  without  the  brilliant  sunshine  we  should  hardly 
recognise  it  as  the  land  of  Persia. 

The  symbol  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun  originated 
in  the  days  when  the  Zoroastrians  were  the  in- 
habitants of  the  land.  The  Sun,  being  the  emblem 
of  the  Fire  Worshippers,  was  taken  as  their  national 
badge.  The  Lion  was  added  later  because  Ali,  the 
grandson  of  Mohammed,  was  called  "  The  Lion  of 
God."  The  woman's  face  in  the  Sun  was  inserted 
some  years  later  by  one  of  the  Persian  kings  as  a 
tribute  to  his  favourite  wife. 

The  sunshine  of  Persia  forms  one  of  its  greatest 
attractions.  Even  in  winter  the  dull,  cloudy  days 
are  few  and  far  between.  When  by  chance  a  rainy 
day  does  come,  the  people  are  so  surprised  and  taken 
aback  that  they  seem  paralysed  for  the  time  being, 
and  are  unable  to  go  about  their  usual  business. 

19 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

The  remembrance  of  our  first  experience  of  a  rainy 
day  still  lingers  in  my  memory.  We  had  awakened 
one  morning  much  later  than  usual  to  find  the  sky 
clouded  over  and  the  rain  coming  down  in  torrents. 
I  was  surprised  to  find  that  we  had  not  been  called 
as  usual,  but  imagined  the  servants  had  forgotten  to 
do  so.  Upon  entering  the  dining-room,  what  was 
my  surprise  to  find  no  preparations  for  a  meal. 
Calling  the  servant,  I  asked  him  why  breakfast  was 
not  ready.  At  this  he  seemed  quite  hurt,  as  he 
answered,  "  But,  Khanum  (lady),  it  is  raining ! " 
This  fact  was  to  his  mind  quite  sufficient  reason 
for  everything.  As  long  as  the  rain  lasted  the 
servants  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  do  nothing 
except  crouch  over  the  fire  and  shiver  i  The 
moment  the  rain  ceased  and  the  sun  once  more 
shone  out  they  resumed  their  normal  state. 

This  constant  sunshine  is  a  great  boon  to  the 
beggars  and  poor,  helping  to  make  life  endurable 
for  them ;  they  need  very  little  clothing,  as  a  rule, 
to  enable  them  to  keep  warm.  So  long  as  they 
can  lie  and  bask  in  the  sunshine,  picking  up  bread 
enough  to  sustain  life,  they  trouble  very  little  about 
working  or  earning  money. 

There  is  only  one  place  where  there  is  very  little 
sunshine,  and  that  is  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the 
people.  Especially,  perhaps,  is  this  true  in  the  case 
of  the  women  of  the  land,  as  we  shall  see  presently. 

A  Persian  gentleman  once  visited  England,  and 
on  his  return  to  his  native  country  was  questioned 
by  his  friends  as  to  which  was  the  better  land  to 
live  in.  His  reply  was  to  the  effect  that  in  England 
the  houses  were  grander,  the  scenery  more  beautiful, 

20 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

but  that  there  was  no  sunshine  !  This  lack,  to  his 
mind,  far  outweighed  all  the  other  advantages  which 
might,  belong  to  England,  and  his  friends  decided 
that,  after  all,  Persia  was  the  better  country  to 
live  in. 

When  there  happens  to  be  a  cloudy  day  or 
night  in  summer,  the  result  is  anything  but  cooling, 
for  the  air  becomes  terribly  oppressive,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  breathe,  and  during  the  night  it  is 
quite  useless  to  think  of  or  hope  for  sleep  till  the 
clouds  have  rolled  away. 

The  natives  are  very  much  alarmed  when  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  takes  place,  as  they  are  afraid 
they  are  going  to  lose  their  benefactor.  Once, 
while  we  were  in  Yezd,  the  sun  was  eclipsed.  Sud- 
denly hundreds  of  guns  and  cannons  were  fired  off 
from  all  parts  of  the  town.  We  ran  out  to  see 
what  had  happened,  and  were  met  by  our  frightened 
servants  carrying  their  guns,  who  told  us  that  an 
enormous  fish  was  trying  to  swallow  the  sun,  and  that 
they  hoped,  by  making  a  terrific  noise,  to  frighten 
it  away !  Great  was  their  joy  and  relief  when  the 
shadow  began  to  pass  from  the  sun. 

Sand-storms  are  terrible  trials  in  Persia.  Quite 
suddenly,  without  any  warning,  the  light  disappears, 
clouds  upon  clouds  of  dust  come  rushing  in.  Before 
you  have  time  to  shut  all  the  doors  and  windows, 
everything  in  the  house  is  covered  with  a  fine  white 
dust.  Sand-storms  are  disagreeable  and  trying  to 
the  patience  when  they  find  you  in  the  house,  but 
when  you  are  caught  in  a  heavy  sand-storm  out  in 
the  desert,  it  is  often  a  source  of  great  danger.  If 
riding,  the  only  possible  thing  to  do  is  to  dismount, 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

cover  your  head  and  face  as  well  as  possible,  turn 
your  back  to  the  storm,  and  hope  for  the  best. 

At  other  times  the  light  is  obliterated  in  the 
daytime  by  a  swarm  of  locusts  passing  overhead. 
Till  I  saw  this  myself  I  could  hardly  believe  it  was 
possible  for  these  little  insects  to  obscure  the  light 
of  the  sun  as  they  did.  One  day  in  Kerman  we 
were  just  ready  to  set  off  for  a  ride,  when  suddenly 
the  light  vanished,  and  I  thought  a  fearful  thunder- 
storm was  about  to  burst  upon  us.  On  looking 
up  we  saw  what  appeared  to  be  a  huge  black  cloud 
hovering  overhead :  presently  this  descended  and 
resolved  itself  into  myriads  of  flying  insects.  As 
some  fell  to  the  earth  we  found  them  to  be  locusts 
from  two  to  three  inches  long.  The  natives  were 
dreadfully  alarmed  lest  they  should  settle  on  their 
fields,  as  it  was  springtime,  and  the  ground  was 
already  green  with  promise  of  harvest.  Had  the 
locusts  settled,  it  would  have  meant  ruin  and  starva- 
tion to  many.  Fortunately,  they  passed  over  that 
time. 

We  have  seen  that  Persia  is  a  land  of  sunshine, 
we  must  not  forget  that  it  is  also  a  land  of  cats. 

I  was  amused  the  other  day  to  see  how  differently 
two  people  can  see  the  same  thing.  In  the  course 
of  a  conversation  with  a  friend  who  was  for  some 
years  in  Persia,  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  admire 
the  Persian  cats  very  much.  "  Never  saw  one,"  was 
his  answer,  and  he  maintained  that  the  whole  time 
he  was  in  Persia  he  never  saw  a  long-haired  cat. 
My  experience  was  quite  the  reverse,  for  I  hardly 
remember  ever  seeing  an  ordinary  short-haired  one 

during  the  three  years  we  were  in  Persia.     We  had 

22 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

some  beautiful  white  ones,  but  they  were  very 
delicate,  and  generally  came  to  an  untimely  end. 
We  tried  to  take  one  to  Kerman,  but  it  met  with 
a  sad  death  when  only  half  way  there. 

Cats  are  exported  on  quite  a  large  scale  to  India 
and  other  places.  They  are  taken  to  the  coast  by 
horse-dealers,  who  tether  them  in  much  the  same 
way  as  they  do  their  horses. 

One  of  the  late  Shahs  is  said  to  have  been  very 
devoted  to  cats,  and  always  took  one  with  him 
when  he  travelled,  a  special  baggage  animal  being 
reserved  for  the  cage  of  this  favourite  pet. 

There  are  many  ways  of  journeying  in  Persia, 
and  the  would-be  traveller  can  take  his  choice  ac- 
cording to  his  own  ideas  of  comfort  and  convenience. 
To  my  mind  the  most  pleasant  way  of  all  is  to  have 
your  own  horses  for  riding,  and  thus  be  able  to  set 
your  own  pace  and  not  have  to  be  bound  down 
to  the  slow,  wearying,  never- changing  rate  of  the 
caravan. 

For  those  who  do  not  care  for,  or  are  not  strong 
enough  for  riding,  there  are  many  conveyances. 
Here,  again,  the  traveller  has  quite  a  large  choice 
of  good  things.  First  of  all  there  is  the  "  kajavah." 
This  consists  of  two  cage-like  boxes,  suspended  one 
on  each  side  of  the  animal :  the  interior  of  these  boxes 
sometimes  boasts  of  a  little  low  seat,  but  as  a  rule  is 
innocent  of  any  such  luxury.  Two  people  of  about 
the  same  weight  must  sit  on  each  side,  or  the  result 
is  disastrous.  I  remember  once  being  with  a  large 
caravan.  In  one  of  these  kajavahs  was  travelling 
a  Government  official  and  his  wife.  He  was  very 
tiny,  she  was  quite  the  reverse,  the  result  being 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

that  the  little  man  was  generally  up  in  the  air  while 
the  opposite  side  of  the  kajavah  was  weighed  down 
nearly  to  the  ground.  They  tried  all  manner  of 
experiments  in  their  endeavour  to  strike  the  balance, 
gathering  stones  and  depositing  them  in  the  lighter 
side,  tying  bags  of  fuel,  &c.,  to  the  outside  of  the 
kajavah,  but  all  of  no  avail.  At  last,  in  disgust  and 
anger,  the  woman  jumped  out  without  giving  her 
husband  any  warning:  the  result  to  onlookers  was 
ludicrous !  The  wife  refused  all  that  day  again  to 
enter  the  kajavah,  preferring  to  walk,  till  one  of 
the  muleteers  offered  her  a  seat  on  the  top  of  one 
of  the  baggage  mules.  The  little  man  was  soon 
balanced  with  stones  picked  up  by  the  wayside,  and 
travelled  for  the  rest  of  that  day  in  peace  and 
comfort.  At  the  end  of  the  stage,  however,  his 
wife  would  not  speak  to  him  or  cook  his  dinner 
for  him !  and  the  man  (who  was  quite  the  reverse 
of  an  ordinary  Moslem  man)  came  to  one  of  my 
husband's  assistants,  begging  him  to  act  as  mediator. 
In  this  case  the  man  and  woman  seem  to  have 
exchanged  places  as  regards  character,  the  wife  being 
decidedly  the  master,  and  he,  poor  man,  looked 
as  if  he  hardly  dared  call  his  soul  his  own.  Even 
amongst  Moslems  there  doubtless  are  some  strong- 
minded  women. 

I  have  travelled  many  miles  in  one  of  these 
kajavahs,  finding  them  very  comfortable  and  restful, 
after  riding  for  hours.  My  husband  had  a  pair 
specially  made  for  me,  with  seats  inside,  and  nicely 
cushioned :  these  always  went  with  us  on  our 
journeys  in  Persia,  so  that,  when  I  tired  of  riding, 
I  could  rest  awhile.  While  I  was  not  using  them 

24 


our  servants  had  to  take  my  place,  a  favour  they 
did  not  always  appreciate.  When  travelling  by 
night,  I  have  slept  for  hours  at  a  stretch  in  one  of 
these  kajavahs,  the  steady  measured  walk  of  the 
mule  favouring  slumber.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
monotony  is  broken  by  the  mule  suddenly  dropping 
on  to  its  front  knees,  and  you  find  yourself  deposited 
on  the  ground,  shot  out  like  an  arrow  from  its 
bow. 

If  this  form  of  conveyance  does  not  appeal  to 
the  traveller  then  there  is  the  "  takhtiravan."  This 
is  a  most  luxurious  mode  of  conveyance,  and  is,  as  a 
rule,  only  used  by  invalids  or  high-class  Moslem 
ladies.  It  consists  of  a  box,  with  doors  and  windows, 
measuring  about  six  or  seven  feet  by  four  in  length 
and  five  in  height.  The  top  is  covered  with  heavy 
felt  or  some  material  which  will  keep  out  the  sun  or 
the  rain,  according  to  which  season  of  the  year  you 
are  travelling  in.  Inside  is  placed  a  mattress  with 
plenty  of  cushions  :  the  whole  is  built  on  shafts  which 
are  slung  between  two  mules,  one  in  front  and  one 
behind.  The  motion  is  rather  like  that  of  a  rolling 
ship,  and,  unless  the  occupant  is  a  good  sailor,  the 
experience  is  not  always  a  pleasant  one.  I  once 
travelled  for  a  week  in  one  of  these  conveyances,  and 
on  arriving  at  our  destination  found  my  back  was  a 
mass  of  bruises.  The  takhtiravan  is  very  good  for 
night  travelling,  as  you  can  lie  flat  down  and  sleep, 
provided  the  animals  keep  in  step  and  the  road  is 
good.  On  an  uneven  road  the  sensation  is  not  too 
comfortable. 

We  once  had  a  never-to-be-forgotten  week  of 
torture  in  a  springless  wagon ;  it  really  was  too 

25 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

terrible.  Oh,  the  jolting,  the  jarring,  and  the  bone 
shaking !  Each  day  the  misery  increased,  till  every 
bone  in  our  bodies  was  bruised  and  aching,  and  every 
nerve  racked  to  its  utmost.  I  should  not  recom- 
mend this  mode  of  conveyance  to  any  one  contem- 
plating a  journey  in  Persia.  When  we  first  went 
to  the  Land  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun,  carriages  were 
very  scarce  and  very  expensive  south  of  Teheran. 
Now  they  are  becoming  much  more  generally  used, 
at  any  rate  as  far  as  Isphahan.  When  we  left 
Kerman  in  1902  we  drove  to  Yezd  in  a  carriage 
kindly  lent  to  us  by  one  of  the  Kerman  native 
gentlemen.  Albeit  the  wheels  came  off  occasionally 
and  various  other  accidents  took  place,  still  it  was 
a  very  luxurious  way  of  travelling,  comparatively 
speaking.  Then,  when  we  finally  left  Persia  in  1903, 
we  drove  from  Isphahan  to  Teheran  in  a  private 
carriage  belonging  to  a  friend  who  lent  it  to  us  for 
the  journey ;  so  that  I  fully  expect  by  now  that 
travelling  by  carriage  has  become  quite  the  ordinary 
mode  of  journeying  in  Persia. 

The  last  part  of  that  drive  into  Teheran  has  left 
a  vivid  remembrance  on  my  mind.  It  was  a  Satur- 
day, and  we  were  very  desirous  of  reaching  Teheran 
that  night,  otherwise  it  meant  spending  Sunday  at 
a  village  near  the  city,  as  we  did  not  like  travelling 
on  that  day.  So  we  determined  to  push  on  at  all 
costs.  To  add  to  our  difficulties  it  began  to  pour 
with  rain  soon  after  starting  in  the  morning,  and 
continued  a  steady  drench  the  whole  day.  Long 
before  we  reached  the  end  of  our  stage  we  were  both 
wet  through  to  the  skin.  Sunset  found  us  still  some 

twenty  miles  out  of  Teheran,  and,  the  horses  begin- 

26 


PERSIAN  CONVEYANCES 

The  takhtiravan  is  a  slow  but  comfortable  conveyance  for  travelling  in.  It  is  a  species  of  sedan- 
chair,  slung  on  two  long  poles ;  to  these  shafts  mules  are  harnessed,  one  in  front  and  the  other  behind. 
The  Kajavahs  are  a  much  less  luxurious  mode  of  travelling.  They  consist  of  two  cage-like  boxes 
slung  one  on  each  side  of  the  mule.  If  the  animal  is  sure-footed  and  the  balance  of  the  boxes 
maintained,  the  sensation  of  riding  in  them  is  not  unpleasant. 


A  HALT  FOR  LUNCH 

The  midday  break  in  the  day's  march  is  always  welcome  and  refreshing,  especially 
when  it  is  possible  to  rest  in  the  luxury  of  shade 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

ning  to  show  signs  of  fatigue,  we  perforce  had  to 
rest  them  for  a  while.  When  we  were  within  five 
miles  or  so  of  the  city,  we  found  the  road  all  flooded, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  know  where  the  road  ended 
and  the  ditch  began  which  ran  parallel  to  the  road 
on  both  sides.  It  was  by  then  pitch  dark,  so  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  but  let  the  horses  take  their 
own  way,  hoping  their  instincts  would  lead  them 
and  us  safely.  All  went  well  till  we  were  within 
sight  of  the  lights  of  Teheran,  when  suddenly  smash 
went  the  carriage,  and  down  fell  the  horses  into  a 
deep  ditch.  One  poor  horse  (our  own,  which  we 
were  taking  to  Teheran  to  sell)  never  moved,  and 
we  thought  he  was  dead.  I  jumped  down  from  the 
dogcart  and  landed  in  the  ditch  nearly  up  to  my 
waist  in  water  !  The  lamps  had  gone  out,  and  we 
were  in  total  darkness.  We  called  and  called  for 
help  but  no  one  came,  so  my  husband  and  I 
walked  on  a  little  to  see  if  we  could  find  any  one 
to  help,  leaving  the  horses  and  carriage  in  charge 
of  the  driver,  who  was  half  beside  himself  with 
fear. 

Presently  we  came  across  a  little  wayside  coffee- 
house, and  found  some  men  who  were  willing  to 
go  and  help  extricate  the  poor  horses  from  their 
dangerous  position,  while  we  walked  on  to  the  gate 
of  the  city  and  waited  in  the  porter's  lodge.  After 
about  an  hour  the  carriage  came  along,  the  horses 
looking  none  the  worse  for  their  escapade.  Our 
kind  friends  of  the  American  Mission  were  waiting 
up,  and  had  prepared  hot  baths  and  hot  drinks  for 
us,  knowing  that  if  we  did  arrive  that  night  at  all 
we  should  be  in  a  terrible  plight.  Thanks  to  their 

27 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

kindness  and  thoughtfulness,  we  suffered  no  harm 
from  our  damp  and  adventurous  drive. 

The  inhabitants  of  Persia  are  :  Moslems,  the  Per- 
sians of  to-day ;  Zoroastrians  (Parsees),  the  Persians 
of  yesterday ;  Armenians,  and  Jews.  Of  the  two 
former  I  will  not  speak  now,  as  we  shall  make 
their  acquaintance  a  little  later.  A  few  words  will 
suffice  for  Armenians  and  Jews.  The  former  were 
brought  from  Julfa  in  Armenia  many  years  ago  by 
some  former  Shah  on  account  of  their  industry  and 
workmanship.  He  gave  them  a  suburb  of  Isphahan 
to  live  in,  and  very  soon  a  large  Armenian  settle- 
ment sprang  up.  Julfa  of  Persia  is  about  three 
miles  from  Isphahan.  Here  all  the  Armenians  live, 
and  until  quite  lately  the  Europeans  also,  as  it  was 
not  considered  safe  for  them  to  reside  in  Isphahan. 
However,  of  late  years  this  is  all  changed,  most  of 
the  Europeans  now  having  houses  in  Isphahan. 

The  Armenians  are  very  clever  workmen  in  all 
crafts  and  trades.  Also  to  their  shame  be  it  said 
that  they  are  the  wine  and  spirit  makers  for  the 
Isphahanis.  A  true  Moslem  is  not  allowed  to  make 
or  drink  wine.  Thanks  to  the  Armenians,  however, 
the  temptation  is  ever  at  hand  ready  for  him,  with 
plenty  of  opportunities  afforded  him  of  indulging 
in  secret. 

The  Armenians  make  very  good  assistants  for 
hospital  work,  some  of  them  turning  out  quite  good 
doctors.  One  young  fellow  was  with  my  husband 
for  two  years.  After  we  left  he  went  to  India, 
where  he  took  a  medical  course,  and  is  now  a  fully 
qualified  doctor  practising  in  India.  They  have 

plenty   of  "  push "  in   them,  and   once  they  make 

28 


EARLY    IMPRESSIONS 

up  their  minds  to  get  on,  no  obstacle  is  too  great 
for  them  to  overcome. 

The  Jews  of  Persia  are  a  miserably  poor,  de- 
graded class  of  people.  Their  lot  is  a  very  hard 
one ;  despised  and  oppressed  by  the  Moslems,  hated 
and  cursed  by  all,  their  life  is  not  enviable.  They 
are  to  be  found  everywhere,  in  Isphahan,  Yezd, 
Kerman,  and  many  other  cities.  My  heart  often 
ached  for  these  poor,  wretched  people  as  they 
flocked  to  the  dispensaries.  Fortunately  for  them, 
there  is  a  Mission  amongst  the  Jews  in  Persia 
which  helps  in  no  small  way  to  brighten  the  lives 
of  the  poor,  downtrodden  people. 

We  have  taken  a  fleeting  glance  at  the  Land 
of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun ;  we  must  now  try  and 
become  more  intimately  acquainted  with  some  of 
its  towns  and  their  inhabitants. 


CHAPTER   II 

KERMAN 

Short  history  of  Kerman — Its  overthrow — City  of  beggars — Story  of  the 
fort — The  jackal's  "  tale  of  woe." 

"  A  little  red  worm— the  gard'ner's  special  dread." 

V.  FANE. 

THE  first  view  we  had  of  Kerman  was  a  very 
picturesque  one.  We  had  been  travelling  for 
about  twenty  days,  and  on  Easter  Eve  reached  a 
lovely  garden  some  four  or  five  hours'  ride  from 
Kerman,  and  here  we  decided  to  stay  for  Easter  Day. 
Early  on  Monday  morning  we  started  for  the  last 
stage  of  our  journey.  Just  as  the  sun  was  rising  we 
came  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  there  away  in  the 
distance  lay  the  city  of  Kerman,  the  city  towards 
which  our  hopes  and  thoughts  had  been  tending  for 
so  long,  as  it  was  the  goal  to  which  we  had  been 
pressing  for  the  past  twelve  months,  and  which  we 
fondly  hoped  was  to  have  been  our  home  for  many 
years ;  but  God  ordered  otherwise. 

Kerman  is  a  very  interesting  old  city,  having 
passed  through  many  vicissitudes  and  seen  many 
changes  during  its  varied  and  chequered  history.  It 
is  also  a  very  pretty  place,  especially  as  seen  from  a 
short  distance,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the 
eternal  mountains,  with  their  ever-changing  shades 
and  shadows,  and  forming  a  magnificent  background 

30 


KERMAN 

to  the  city  nestling  at  their  feet.     On  the  fourth  side 
the  desert  stretches  away  to  Yezd  and  Isphahan. 

Kerman  is  said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  a 
Persian  word  Kerm,  meaning  a  worm,  and  the  legend 
connected  with  it  is  as  follows.  The  princess  who 
founded  the  city  was  one  day  walking  with  her  fol- 
lowers over  the  site  of  the  future  town,  and  plucked 
an  apple  from  a  tree :  upon  eating  it  she  found  to  her 
disgust  and  annoyance  a  worm  at  its  core.  As  she 
threw  it  away  in  anger,  she  declared  that  the  new 
city  should  be  called  Kerm-an,  a  worm.  Kerman  is 
certainly  a  very  ancient  city  :  the  inhabitants  claim 
that  it  was  a  large  town  in  the  time  of  Solomon. 
Whether  this  is  so  1  do  not  know.  The  first  time  it 
is  mentioned  in  history  is  by  Herodotus.  Alexander 
is  said  to  have  marched  his  army  through  Kerman  on 
his  way  to  India,  and  Cyrus  passed  that  way  on  his 
return  from  India.  Perhaps  few  places  have  suffered 
more  at  the  hands  of  invaders  than  Kerman.  It  has 
been  sacked  at  least  six  times,  and  in  1794  the  city 
was  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  Agha  Mohammed 
Khan.  The  city  was  bravely  defended  by  the  prince- 
governor,  who  was  one  of  the  last  of  the  Zend 
dynasty ;  he  sustained  a  long  and  severe  siege,  till 
two-thirds  of  his  troops  had  perished  from  starvation, 
and  then  the  city  was  betrayed  treacherously  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  and  its  brave  defenders  obliged 
to  flee,  only  to  meet  with  a  cruel  death  some  two 
years  later  from  the  hands  of  the  same  oppressor. 
This  incarnation  of  cruelty,  Agha  Mohammed  Khan, 
gave  the  city  over  to  the  will  of  his  soldiers,  who 
resembled  their  leader  in  cruelty  and  barbarity. 

There  was  no  compassion  in  his  heart,  and  he  would 

31 


KERMAN 

listen  to  none  of  the  entreaties  of  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  for  mercy,  nor  would  he  withdraw  his 
troops  from  the  city  till  he  had  received  a  gift  of 
twenty  thousand  pairs  of  human  eyes.  When  these 
were  brought  to  him,  he  insisted  on  counting  them 
over  himself  to  see  if  the  number  was  correct,  and  is 
reported  to  have  said  to  the  trembling  man  who 
carried  the  baskets  piled  high  with  these  awful  tro- 
phies :  "  It  is  a  good  thing  the  number  is  correct ;  if 
it  had  not  been,  your  eyes  would  have  gone  to  make 
up  the  exact  number."  The  city  never  recovered 
from  this  terrible  blow,  and  to-day  Kerman  is  a 
byword  among  Persians  for  its  poverty  and  extra- 
ordinary number  of  beggars.  If  you  were  to  ride 
through  the  bazaars  you  would  be  struck  by  the 
tremendous  number  of  beggars,  all  holding  out  their 
hands,  beseeching  you  for  the  love  of  God  to  give 
them  a  copper. 

There  is  a  quaint  saying  among  the  beggars  which 
one  hears  very  often  ;  it  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Khuda  guft, '  Beddeh/ 
Shaitan  guft,  '  Neddeh 

(God  says,  "  Give"  ;  Satan  says,  "  Don't  give"). 

Just  outside  Kerman  are  the  remains  of  two  old 
fortresses,  the  larger  of  which  is  called  the  Galah  i 
Doukhta,  or  the  Fort  of  the  Maiden,  doubtless  on 
account  of  the  story  connected  with  it. 

These  fortresses  were  built  on  small  hills,  and  so 
alike  are  they  in  formation  and  colour  to  the  soil 
that  it  is  difficult  to  see  where  the  castle  begins  and 
the  hill  ends.  Between  these  two  old  fortresses  lie 
the  ruins  of  ancient  Kerman.  This  city  was  the  last 


KERMAN 

to  fall  under  the  Moslem  sway  in  its  invasion 
of  Persia,  and  the  legend  connected  with  it  is 
interesting. 

The  city  was  surrounded  on  all  hands  by  the 
Moslem  invaders,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  enemy 
would  be  obliged  to  retreat,  as  its  defenders  had 
withdrawn  themselves  into  the  castles  or  fortresses 
already  mentioned.  These  had  been  well  provi- 
sioned for  a  long  siege  in  case  of  need,  and  also 
were  connected  with  the  outer  world  by  means  of 
underground  passages,  known  only  to  those  in  the 
castles.  All,  perhaps,  might  have  gone  well  but  for 
the  fact  that  there  lived  in  the  fortress  a  beautiful 
woman — alas  !  as  treacherous  as  beautiful.  She  was 
the  idolised  daughter  of  the  king  of  the  castle ; 
nothing  was  too  good  for  this  loved  and  spoilt 
beauty.  Her  father  showered  gifts  upon  her — gold, 
jewellery,  silks,  all  were  hers ;  and  it  is  said  that  just 
before  the  siege  began  her  father  had  planned  and 
designed  a  beautiful  garden  for  her,  such  as  never 
had  been  seen  before. 

Being  so  loved  and  such  a  favourite  of  all,  she 
was  allowed  to  roam  at  will  within  the  castle  walls, 
and  often  beguiled  the  time  by  watching  the  be- 
siegers who  lay  far  below  in  the  plain.  One  day  her 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  handsome  Arab  general, 
who  always  seemed  to  be  foremost  in  all  that  was 
going  on,  leading  his  men  into  the  most  dangerous 
and  exposed  parts.  Where  the  arrows  fell  fastest 
and  most  often,  there  this  Arab  prince  was  sure  to 
be  seen,  always  brave  and  courageous.  His  bravery, 
added  to  his  good  looks,  so  appealed  to  this  spoilt 
and  petted  woman  that  she  immediately  fell  in  love 

33  C 


KERMAN 

with  him.  Day  by  day  this  love  increased,  till  her 
whole  soul  was  afire  with  all  the  abandon  of  an 
Eastern  love,  and  she  felt  that  nothing  could  or 
should  keep  her  from  her  hero.  "  Love  "  soon  found 
means  of  communicating  with  the  object  of  its  affec- 
tion, for  love  is  stronger  than  barred  or  barricaded 
fortresses.  By  some  means,  known  only  to  herself 
and  one  other,  she  gave  this  Arab  to  understand  that 
if  only  he  wrould  promise  to  marry  her,  she  would 
deliver  the  castle  into  his  hands. 

The  Eastern  as  well  as  the  Western  agree  that 
"  All  is  fair  in  love  and  war,"  so  this  general  of  the 
East  consented  to  this  plan,  and  agreed  to  accept 
victory  at  the  hands  of  treachery. 

Accordingly,  all  was  arranged  satisfactorily  to  both 
parties,  and  one  dark,  moonless  night  the  deed  was 
done.  The  lady  of  the  castle,  the  idolised  and 
beloved  of  all,  became  the  betrayer  of  her  people. 
After  all  had  retired  to  rest  that  night,  and  the  sen- 
tinels were  lost  in  the  dense  darkness,  she  stealthily 
crept  out  of  the  castle,  safely  passed  the  sleeping 
men  supposed  to  be  on  guard,  and  opened  the  secret 
gate  to  her  lover  and  his  soldiers — the  enemies  of 
her  father  and  her  country.  A  terrible  massacre 
ensued,  in  which  the  father  was  slain,  fortunately 
dying  without  the  knowledge  of  his  daughter's  base 
action.  The  prince-general  had  given  strict  orders 
to  his  men  that  on  no  account  was  the  girl  to  be 
touched  during  the  attack  on  the  castle,  but  that  she 
was  to  be  conducted  to  a  place  of  safety  till  all  was 
over.  At  last,  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning, 
the  general  had  time  to  think  of  his  ward. 

Tired    out    with    his    work    of    bloodshed    and 


KERMAN 

slaughter,  but  rejoicing  in  his  unexpected  victory, 
he  sent  for  the  girl  to  find  out  the  reason  of  her 
willingness  to  thus  betray  her  own  people  .and  land 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  When  brought  into 
his  presence  he  was  amazed  at  the  beauty  and  loveli- 
ness of  the  girl  before  him,  and  his  heart  went  out  in 
great  love  and  admiration  towards  her.  She,  still 
thinking  only  of  her  own  wicked  infatuation,  was 
congratulating  herself  that  now  her  heart's  desire  was 
to  be  granted  her,  and  she  would  soon  become  the 
wife  of  the  man  so  long  idealised  and  idolised.  But 
alas  !  for  her  fair  hopes. 

The  general,  notwithstanding  her  beauty,  desired 
to  find  out  what  her  motive  was  for  doing  as  she  had 
done,  and  so  he  plied  her  with  questions.  "  Was  she 
very  unhappy  ? "  "  Was  her  father  very  cruel  to 
her  ? "  or  "  Had  she  done  this  to  avenge  herself  for 
some  wrong  ? "  To  all  these  she  replied  in  the  nega- 
tive. "  Then,  in  the  name  of  wonder,  what  was  your 
reason  for  sacrificing  father,  home,  country  and  all  ? " 
cried  the  general.  "  For  love  of  you,"  answered  the 
now  frightened  girl,  and  she  then  told  him  how  kind 
her  father  had  been  to  her,  how  he  had  done  all  in 
his  power  to  make  her  happy,  and  how  nothing  was 
ever  denied  her  that  he  could  possibly  procure,  but 
assured  him  that  all  this  was  as  nothing  to  her  com- 
pared to  the  great  love  which  she  felt  towards  him, 
her  lover,  and  ended  by  beseeching  him,  now  that  she 
had  sacrificed  all  for  him,  not  to  cast  her  away. 

At  this  the  general  was  so  disgusted  and  enraged 
with  her,  that  he  determined  that  she  must  die,  and 
cast  about  in  his  mind  for  some  means  of  death 
worthy  of  her  selfishness  and  wickedness,  "  for,"  said 

35 


KERMAN 

he,  "you  are  not  a  woman,  you   are   a   fiend,  and 
therefore  must  die." 

He  therefore  ordered  his  men  to  bind  her  with 
cords,  face  downwards,  on  to  the  back  of  a  wild 
horse,  and  to  turn  horse  and  its  rider  into  the  desert. 
This  order  was  carried  out  amidst  heartrending  cries 
and  entreaties  for  mercy  from  the  girl,  but  to  all  the 
general  paid  no  heed,  declaring  that  she  was  only 
suffering  a  just  death  for  the  abominable  behaviour 
to  her  own  people.  The  soldiers  followed  the  horse 
for  some  distance  into  the  desert  to  prevent  its 
returning,  and  thus  perished  the  beautiful  traitress 
of  Kerman. 

I  may  say  here  that  this  form  of  death  is  not 
unknown  even  now  in  Persia,  and  I  heard  a  story  of 
a  man  who  treated  his  wife  in  much  the  same  way, 
only  the  idea  was  perhaps  a  little  more  diabolical. 
He  was  angry  with  her  for  some  reason,  and  desired 
to  rid  himself  of  her,  so  he  caught  a  cow,  and  kept 
it  shut  up  without  water  for  some  days.  Then  he 
bound  his  wife  under  the  body  of  the  animal  and 
sent  it  off1.  Of  course  the  cow  made  for  the  nearest 
stream,  and  we  can  imagine  better  than  describe  the 
fate  of  the  poor  woman. 

The  Kerman  of  to-day  is  a  large  walled-in  city  of 
about  forty  thousand  souls.  This  wall  is  pierced  by 
some  dozen  gates,  some  of  which  are  in  good  repair, 
but  others  are  fast  falling  into  ruin.  In  fact,  most  of 
the  buildings  in  Kerman,  as  well  as  other  parts  of 
Persia,  are  "  kharab  shodeh  " — that  is,  either  in  ruins, 
or  fast  falling  into  that  state.  The  "  kharab  "  build- 
ings outside  the  town  are  the  abode  of  jackals, 
hyaenas,  owls,  and  other  creatures  of  the  desert. 

36 


KERMAN 

The  story  of  how  the  jackals  came  to  be  in- 
habiters  of  the  desert  is  told  by  the  Kermanis  with 
great  gusto,  and  they  quite  sympathise  with  them  in 
their  banishment  from  the  civilisation  of  town  life. 
When  in  Kerman  our  house  was  outside  the  city,  so 
we  had  the  full  benefit  of  the  cries  and  wailings  of 
these  jackals,  and  at  first  it  used  to  make  me  feel 
quite  creepy,  but  after  a  time  we  became  more  accus- 
tomed to  the  weird  music  of  the  night,  and  missed 
the  evening  concerts  when  absent  from  Kerman. 
Sometimes  the  jackals  would  come  right  up  into  our 
garden,  at  other  times  their  howling  would  come 
from  the  desert,  like  the  far-away  cry  of  a  soul  in 
torment,  or  the  wailing  of  the  banshee ;  but  all  night 
and  every  night  the  wailing,  wailing  went  on,  always 
crying  for  what  they  had  not  and  never  could  have 
— never  satisfied,  and  always  letting  people  know 
the  fact ! 

The  story  of  the  dispute  between  the  jackals  and 
the  dogs  of  Kerman  was  told  me  soon  after  our  arrival 
there.  It  is  said  that,  in  olden  days,  the  jackals  were 
the  domesticated  pets  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
and  lived  quite  happily  and  contentedly  in  their 
respective  homes,  always  enjoying  security  and  peace 
within  the  closed  gates,  while  the  dogs  had  to  be 
content  to  be  dwellers  of  the  desert  and  ruins,  out- 
side the  walls  of  the  city.  One  day  the  dogs  awoke 
to  the  fact  that  the  jackals  had  much  the  better  time 
of  it,  and  they  did  not  see  why  this  unequal  state  of 
things  should  remain.  They  were  tired  of  being 
always  outsiders,  always  short  of  food,  and  exposed 
to  all  the  chances  of  wind  and  weather — so  they 

resolved  to  make  a  great  effort  to  obtain  a  position 

37 


KERMAN 

inside  the  gates,  where  there  was  plenty  of  every- 
thing. Being  Socialists,  they  believed  in  the  maxim 
of  "  share  and  share  alike,"  so  they  called  a  committee 
to  consider  by  what  means  they  could  oust  the  jackals 
from  their  comfortable  quarters  and  instal  themselves 
in  their  places.  After  due  thought  and  much  dis- 
cussion, they  determined  to  send  some  leading  repre- 
sentatives to  the  city  to  interview  the  jackals.  This 
they  accordingly  did,  telling  them  that  many  of  the 
dogs  had  been  ill,  and  the  doctor  had  ordered  change 
of  air  for  three  days.  Would  not  the  noble  jackals 
allow  their  humble  neighbours  the  dogs  to  exchange 
places  with  them  just  for  three  days,  in  order  that 
the  invalids  might  have  a  chance  of  recovering  their 
strength  and  health.  At  the  same  time  they  enlarged 
upon  the  beauties  of  the  desert  air,  which  they  said 
would  be  so  good  for  those  who  had  been  cooped  up 
in  the  stifling  city  for  so  long.  The  jackals,  after  long 
and  careful  consideration,  agreed  to  this  proposition, 
arranging  to  leave  their  comfortable  homes  for  three 
days  only,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  all  were 
to  return  to  their  original  places. 

The  next  night  the  change  was  accomplished,  and 
in  the  morning  the  people  were  all  surprised  to  see 
dogs  where  the  night  before  there  had  been  jackals. 
However,  they  did  not  object  very  much.  At  the 
end  of  the  three  nights,  the  jackals  came  to  the  gates 
of  the  city  and  demanded  admission,  longing  to  return 
to  their  own  haunts  and  homes,  having  found  three 
days  in  the  desert  quite  enough,  there  being  no  com- 
parison between  the  comforts  of  the  town  and  the 
dreariness  and  cold  of  the  outside  life.  The  dogs 

appreciated  the  change  so  much  that  they  answered, 

38 


KERMAN 

"  No,  thank  you,  we  prefer  to  stay  where  we  are,  and 
do  not  wish  ever  to  return  to  the  desert."  So  the 
poor  jackals  saw  that  they  had  been  fooled,  and  went 
away  sad  and  sorrowful,  and  every  night  since  then 
have  come  howling  for  admission  to  the  gates,  and 
on  the  dogs  answering  "  No,"  they  go  away  wailing. 
And  that  is  the  reason  why  every  night  we  can  hear 
the  howling  and  wailing  of  these  disappointed  crea- 
tures. And  they  will  probably  go  on  howling  and 
wailing  till  the  end  of  time,  for  the  dogs  are  never 
likely  to  wish  to  return  to  the  desert  life. 

Such  is  the  legend  of  the  jackals  and  the  dogs  of 
Kerman. 


CHAPTER   III 

PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

Carpet-making  —  How  to  tell  a  good  carpet—  How  to  make  a  carpet  —  The 
cry  of  the  children  —  Shawl  manufactures  —  Calico-printing  —  Brass- 
work  —  Agricultural  industries  —  Water  disputes  —  Kanats  —  Poppy  crops 
—  Wheat  and  corn  —  Tobacco-growing. 

Saying  in  Persia  —  "  One  plum  gets  colour  by  looking  at  another." 

"  Do  ye  hear  the  children  weeping,  O  my  brothers, 

Ere  the  sorrow  comes  with  years  ; 
They  are  leaning  their  young  heads  against  their  mothers, 

And  that  cannot  stop  their  tears  ; 
.     .     .    the  child's  sob  in  the  silence  curses  deeper 
Than  the  strong  man  in  his  wrath.  " 

E.  B.  BEOWNING. 


subject  of  the  industries  of  Persia  is  such  an 
JL  extensive  one  that  I  cannot  even  attempt  to 
discuss  it  here  at  any  great  length.  I  only  wish  to 
describe  a  few  of  the  manufactures  and  industries 
which  came  under  our  notice  while  in  Persia. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  of  them  all,  to  my 
mind,  are  the  carpet  manufactories  to  be  found  in 
many  parts.  Very  few  Europeans  live  for  any  length 
of  time  in  Persia  or  other  carpet-manufacturing  coun- 
tries without  being  affected  by  the  carpet  craze. 
They  may  try  to  fight  against  it,  but  they  are  almost 
sure  to  succumb,  sooner  or  later  ! 

When  choosing  a  carpet  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to 
make  sure  that  the  colours  are  fast.  This  is  done  by 
moistening  a  handkerchief  or  small  piece  of  white 

40 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

cloth  and  rubbing  the  carpet.  If  the  slightest  tinge 
of  colour  comes  off,  the  carpet  is  not  a  good  one. 
So  much  depends  upon  the  nature  and  durability  of 
dyes  used.  In  olden  days,  the  only  dyes  used  were 
indigo,  madder,  and  vine  leaves.  From  these  three 
ingredients  they  were  able  to  mix  and  make  most 
delicate  and  artistic  shades,  all  of  which  were  "  fast " 
colours.  Now,  however,  the  aniline  dyes  are  so 
commonly  used  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  carpet 
in  which  all  the  colours  are  permanent.  Europeans 
are  often  deceived  when  buying  carpets,  but  natives 
seldom !  When  the  latter  invests  in  a  carpet  he 
expects  it  to  last  the  whole  of  his  lifetime,  and  not 
only  of  his  life,  but  also  of  that  of  his  children, 
grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren,  and  per- 
chance be  more  valuable  at  the  end  of  that  period 
than  the  day  he  purchased  it.  As  a  rule  he  realises 
his  expectations.  When  a  native  buys  a  new  carpet 
the  first  thing  he  does  with  it  is  to  put  it  down  in 
the  bazaars  for  all  the  traffic  to  pass  over  it.  The 
more  muddy  and  filthy  the  shoes  of  the  passers-by, 
the  greater  will  be  the  beauty  of  the  carpet  after- 
wards, provided  the  colours  are  fast.  This  statement 
may  perhaps  refer  more  especially  to  Syria  and 
Turkish  Arabia,  but  I  believe  it  is  also  true  of 
Persia.  I  have,  myself,  often  seen  carpets  laid  down 
in  this  way  in  the  bazaars  of  Damascus,  Beyrout, 
Baghdad,  and  Mosul.  I  could  never  quite  make  up 
my  mind  to  allow  our  carpets  to  be  subjected  to 
this  treatment,  though  my  husband  always  assured 
me  it  was  the  only  way  for  the  carpets  to  acquire 
that  beautiful  silky  gloss,  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the 
carpet -lover.  As  a  matter  of  fact  that  gloss  is 

41 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

maintained  by  the  native  custom  of  leaving  the 
shoes  at  the  door.  The  constant  walking  upon  the 
carpet  with  bare  or  stockinged  feet  tends  to  bring 
about  this  desirable  finish :  whilst,  on  the  other 
hand,  our  barbarous  custom  of  wearing  dirty  shoes 
in  a  room  is  not  so  good  for  the  carpet,  nor  are 
tables  and  chairs  great  carpet-improvers.  Before 
the  time  of  exporting  carpets  from  Persia  in  any 
great  number  only  good  carpets  were  made,  but 
now  the  demand  is  so  great  that  to  keep  up  the 
supply  a  good  deal  of  shoddy  work  is  manufactured 
and  sent  out  of  the  country. 

To  be  a  good  judge  of  a  carpet  you  need  to  be 
quite  an  expert.  Many  things  have  to  be  taken  into 
consideration.  First  the  dyes,  as  we  have  already 
seen ;  then  the  number  of  stitches  to  the  inch  must 
be  counted,  and  it  is  said  that  a  good  carpet  contains 
about  10,000  stitches  to  the  square  foot,  while  some 
of  the  better  ones  have  as  many  as  40,000.  Another 
point  to  notice  is  to  see  whether  both  ends  are  the 
same  width.  This  is  done  by  doubling  the  carpet :  if 
the  ends  do  not  coincide  it  is  not  a  well-made  carpet. 
Then,  again,  it  should  lie  perfectly  flat  on  the  floor, 
otherwise  it  will  crease  in  a  very  short  time,  and  be 
worthless.  My  husband  had  a  beautiful  Kerman 
carpet  given  to  him  once :  it  was  valued  at  £20,  and, 
but  for  the  fact  that  it  does  not  lie  flat  on  the  floor, 
would  be  worth  a  good  deal  more.  As  it  is,  we  have 
to  keep  it  hanging  on  the  wall,  where  it  cannot  get 
"  rucked  "  or  creased. 

Prices  vary,  of  course,  according  to  the  size  and 
make  of  the  carpets.  Very  fair  ones,  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  hearthrug,  can  be  had  from  £2,  10s.  to  £8 

42 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

or  £10.  Silk  ones  cost  a  great  deal  more,  but  are 
worth  the  money.  A  small  silk  rug  can  be  bought 
for  £50,  but  they  can  be  obtained  any  price  up  to 
£500  or  £1000.  A  mixture  of  wool  and  silk  is 
now  made  to  suit  the  European  market,  but  is  not 
so  durable  as  the  pure  silk  ones.  It  is  generally 
acknowledged  that  the  Kurdistan  carpets  are  the 
best :  they  are  the  most  expensive,  being  about  £3 
the  square  yard.  The  chief  attraction  of  these  lies 
in  the  fact  that  they  are  alike  on  both  sides,  and  are 
very  smooth  and  fine.  Next  to  these  come  those 
made  at  Kerman,  the  design  being  quite  different 
to  those  of  Kurdistan.  In  the  Kerman  carpets  it 
is  not  at  all  uncommon  to  find  figures  of  men  and 
animals,  sometimes  almost  life  size.  Whilst  in 
Kerman  we  visited  one  or  two  of  the  carpet  manu- 
factories, and  were  very  much  interested  in  watching 
the  process. 

All  carpets  are,  of  course,  made  without  machinery 
of  any  kind.  The  warp  is  stretched  on  a  loom,  which 
is  merely  a  frame.  The  woof  consists  of  short  threads 
woven  and  knotted  by  hand  without  the  aid  of  a 
shuttle.  When  a  row  is  finished  it  is  pressed  tightly 
to  the  rest  of  the  web  by  means  of  a  comb  inserted 
into  the  warp.  The  "pile"  is  regulated  by  the 
amount  clipped  off.  For  a  velvet  pile  the  woof  is 
clipped  very  close,  till  a  perfectly  smooth,  even 
surface  is  obtained.  The  weaver  does  not  see  the 
pattern  as  he  works,  as  he  sits  with  the  reverse  side 
of  the  web  towards  him.  The  looms  are  generally 
kept  in  an  underground  vaulted  room,  often  with 
water  running  through  the  centre.  At  each  loom 
three  or  four  workers  sit,  according  to  the  size  of 

43 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

the  carpet.  Sometimes  the  workers  consist  of  one 
man  and  two  children,  and  occasionally  the  owner 
uses  boys  and  girls  only  for  the  weaving,  one  man 
acting  as  overseer  to  the  children. 

I  sat  on  the  high  stool  by  the  side  of  a  tiny  girl 
whose  fingers  were  working  away  so  fast  I  could 
hardly  follow  her  movements.  The  overseer  was 
walking  up  and  down  the  room,  calling  out  instruc- 
tions to  the  workers.  To  me  it  sounded  a  horrible, 
incoherent  jumble,  but  the  children  seemed  to  under- 
stand it  perfectly.  The  overseer  held  in  his  hand  a 
paper,  from  which  he  was  apparently  reading  out 
instructions.  Not  having  a  very  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  Persian  language,  it  was  impossible  to 
follow,  but  as  far  as  I  could  make  out  it  was  some- 
thing as  follows :  To  No.  1.  Three  blue  threads,  one 
white,  two  green ;  No.  2.  Four  yellow,  one  white ; 
and  so  on,  each  child  repeating  after  the  "  master " 
the  instructions  given.  As  it  was  all  said  in  a  high- 
pitched  monotone,  the  result  was  confusing  and 
deafening,  but  there  the  little  weavers  sit,  day  in, 
day  out,  week  after  week,  in  this  damp,  gloomy 
cellar,  kept  hard  at  it  by  the  unrelenting  overseer. 

The  children  are  taken  on  as  "  weavers "  when 
very  young,  some  even  starting  when  five  or  six 
years  old.  Their  hours  of  work  are  from  sunrise  to 
sunset  in  the  summer,  and  until  two  or  three  hours 
after  sunset  in  the  winter,  and  they  are  paid  at  the 
enormous  rate  of  about  2d.  a  day,  sometimes  starting 
with  even  less,  whilst  learning  the  work. 

The  consequence  of  this  abominable  sweating 
system  is  that  to-day  there  are  hundreds  of  little 

children  in  Kerman,  from  eight  to  nine  years  of  age, 

44 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

confirmed  cripples  from  rheumatism  and  other  diseases. 
From  sitting  so  long  in  one  position,  while  still  of 
tender  years,  amid  such  damp  surroundings,  their 
little  feet  and  hands  become  knotted  and  deformed. 
They  can  no  longer  earn  their  daily  bread,  so  perforce 
must  help  to  swell  the  great  multitude  of  beggars 
who  throng  the  streets  and  bazaars  of  Kerman. 

I  once  saw  a  little  girl  about  seven  years  old 
sitting  by  the  roadside  just  outside  our  house.  On 
asking  her  why  she  was  sitting  there  all  alone,  her 
reply  was,  "  Mother  sent  me  to  my  work  (carpet- 
weaving),  but  my  feet  hurt  me  so,  I  can't  walk." 
She  was  waiting  there  whilst  a  companion  in  work 
and  sorrow  ran  to  try  and  find  some  one  who  would 
carry  her  friend  to  the  workroom. 

When  we  think  of  the  sufferings  of  these  hundreds 
of  poor  innocent  children,  do  not  our  hearts  ache  with 
sadness  for  them  ?  Surely  the  "  Cry  of  the  Children  " 
of  Kerman  will  go  up  to  God,  and  He  will  have 
mercy. 

In  the  meantime,  because  people  want  cheap 
Persian  carpets,  these  little  martyrs  must  be  willing 
to  sacrifice  childhood's  happy  days,  health,  aye,  and 
often  life  itself,  on  the  altar  of  cheapness. 

Major  (now  Colonel)  Phillott,  then  acting  British 
Consul  in  Kerman,  was  so  horrified  at  what  he  saw  of 
the  state  of  these  little  sufferers,  that  he  determined 
to  start  a  loom  of  his  own,  employing  men  only  to 
do  the  weaving.  This  he  accordingly  did,  finding,  of 
course,  that  the  expense  was  enormous,  as  men's 
wages  were  so  much  higher  than  the  children's,  and 
also  that  they  would  not  consent  to  such  long  hours. 
So  long  as  children  are  to  be  had  for  a  mere  nominal 

45 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

wage,  so  long  will  the  weavers  use  them,  caring 
nothing  for  their  sorrows,  only  bent  on  making  money 
— the  god  of  the  Persian. 

A  soft  kind  of  felt  carpet  is  also  made  in  Persia, 
specially  in  Isphahan  and  Yezd.  These  are  called 
Namads.  The  materials  used  are  wools  of  all  kinds, 
chiefly  camel's  hair.  The  colour  is  a  light  ochre 
shade  of  brown,  and  there  is  generally  a  pattern 
woven  in  the  centre  of  different  colours,  red  pre- 
dominating. Some  of  these  Namads  are  an  inch 
or  more  in  thickness,  and  are  delightfully  soft  for 
walking  on.  They  make  a  splendid  foundation  in 
a  room  for  laying  carpets  on.  There  is  yet  another 
kind  of  rug  much  used,  called  the  Galeem.  These 
are  much  cheaper  than  carpets,  and  are  suitable  for 
rough  use,  such  as  travelling.  They  wash  well, 
but  do  not  improve  with  use  as  carpets  do,  having 
no  pile. 

There  are  still  shawl-manufactories  to  be  seen  in 
Kerman,  though  they  are  rapidly  on  the  decrease. 
The  best  kind  of  shawl  sells  for  fifty  tumans  (about 
£10)  each,  but  there  are  others  less  expensive,  which  - 
resemble  the  famous  Cashmere  shawls  of  India. 
These  "  shawls "  are  given  as  coats  of  honour 
by  the  governor  or  other  high  official,  and  are 
sought  after  and  valued  by  all.  They  are  woven 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  carpets,  and  are 
made  from  the  under  hair  of  a  special  kind  of  white 
goat  called  "koork,"  which  is  only  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Kerman. 

The  silks  of  Persia  are  very  pretty  and  durable. 
They  are  woven  principally  at  Yezd,  Kashan,  and 

Resht.     The  latter  place  is  noted,  too,  for  its  patch- 

46 


A  NOVEL  DRYING-GROUND 

The  dry  bed  of  the  river  at  Isphahan  is  used  in  summer-time  as  a  drying-ground  for  curtains 
and  printed  cloths,  which  are  manufactured  in  the  city. 


PERSIAN  MODE  OF  IRRIGATION 

The  ox,  who  patiently  walks  up  and  down  the  inclined  passage,  draws  up  from  the  well  a  large 
skin  of  water,  or  sometimes  an  iron  bucket,  which  empties  itself  into  trenches  prepared  beforehand. 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

work  and  embroidery.  This  work  consists  of  tiny 
pieces  of  cloth  pieced  together  into  some  floral  or 
other  design.  I  had  two  or  three  pieces  of  this  work 
given  me  by  a  Persian  gentleman  of  high  rank.  One 
is  a  study  in  red,  and  the  other  consists  chiefly  of 
black  and  green,  enlivened  here  and  there  by  bright 
patches  of  other  colours. 

Another  rather  interesting  industry  to  be  seen 
in  Isphahan  is  the  calico-printing ;  this  is  done  by 
means  of  blocks,  and,  as  a  rule,  one  design  covers 
the  whole  piece.  These  prints  are  used  very  much 
as  curtains,  table-cloths,  &c.,  and  have  the  advantage 
of  being  inexpensive.  The  natives  often  use  them 
as  shrouds  for  the  dead,  for  which  purpose  special 
ones  are  manufactured,  bearing  suitable  quotations 
from  the  Koran. 

During  the  summer  in  Isphahan  the  bed  of  the 
river  may  be  seen  covered  with  these  prints,  laid  out 
to  dry  in  the  sun  after  having  gone  through  the 
process  of  dyeing  and  "  blocking." 

Space  forbids  my  mentioning  all  the  many  other 
articles  manufactured  in  Persia — the  brass- work  of 
Isphahan,  copper- work  of  Kashan,  silver  of  both 
Isphahan  and  Shiraz,  mosaic  also  from  Shiraz.  But 
enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  Persians  are 
a  very  clever  and  artistic  race  of  people,  and  con- 
sidering the  primitiveness  of  their  methods  and  im- 
plements, the  results  are  astonishingly  beautiful  and 
charming.  The  agricultural  industries  of  Persia,  too, 
are  considerable — the  water  supply  necessary  for  these 
being  a  fruitful  source  of  quarrelling  and  fighting, 
which  sometimes  leads  even  to  murder.  The  labourers 
whose  duty  it  is  to  look  after  the  watering  of  the 

47 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

crops  are  armed  with  long  spades,  for  the  purpose  of 
digging  trenches  and  clearing  a  way  for  the  water, 
&c.  In  a  dispute  these  spades  become  very  formid- 
able weapons,  and  many  a  broken  head  have  they 
caused. 

Often  when  riding  in  the  desert  we  have  met  a 
company  of  these  men  returning  from  their  labours, 
each  carrying  his  murderous-looking  implement  on 
his  shoulder,  and  in  the  gloaming  they  resembled  an 
army  of  soldiers  marching.  The  water  supply  is 
very  often  conducted  into  a  town  or  village  from  the 
mountains  by  means  of  kanats,  or  long  underground 
passages.  Pits  are  dug  at  a  distance  of  about  25  feet 
apart,  each  one  being  connected  with  the  other  by  a 
subterranean  passage,  and  so  on  till  the  place  is 
reached  where  the  water  is  needed.  Sometimes 
these  tunnels  extend  for  many  miles,  and  as  the 
mouth  of  each  pit  is  surrounded  by  mounds  of  earth 
thrown  up,  it  gives  the  appearance  of  a  succession  of 
huge  mole-hills  running  across  the  country.  Great 
loss  of  life  is  associated  with  the  sinking  of  these 
shafts  from  the  constant  falling  in  of  the  sides ;  on 
this  account  very  high  wages  are  given  to  compensate 
for  probable  loss  of  life. 

One  of  the  principal  crops  around  Isphahan  is 
that  of  the  poppy.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  field 
after  field  of  these  lovely  white  flowers,  stretching 
away  for  miles,  maybe.  How  sad  to  think  that  such 
beauty  should  lead  to  misery,  wretchedness,  and  de- 
gradation !  When  the  poppy  is  ripe,  the  "  head  "  is 
scratched  at  sunset  with  a  kind  of  comb  in  three 
places ;  from  these  gashes  the  opium  oozes  out.  It 

is  then  collected  in  the  morning  before  sunrise,  dried, 

48 


PERSIAN    INDUSTRIES 

and  rolled  into  cakes  ready  either  for  use  in  the 
country  or  for  export.  It  is  calculated  that  about 
8000  cases  of  opium,  each  case  containing  some  200 
cakes,  are  exported  from  Persia  every  year. 

Although  the  growth  of  opium  enriches  those 
directly  concerned,  yet  it  tends  to  impoverish  the 
country ;  for  the  ground  which  before  was  cultivated 
with  wheat  and  corn  is  now  required  for  the  poppy, 
thus  making  grain  much  dearer. 

There  is  also  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco  grown 
in  Persia,  which  is  used  for  the  "  kalian  "  (or  water- 
pipe)  and  cigarette  smoking.  The  best  kind  is  grown 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Shiraz. 

Wheat  and  barley  are  largely  grown,  and  are 
always  reaped  with  the  sickle.  The  land  is  very 
fertile,  and  with  very  little  trouble  a  good  crop  is 
obtained,  provided  the  water  supply  is  good. 

It  has  been  said  of  Persia  that  "  it  is  only 
necessary  to  tickle  the  land  and  it  will  laugh  into 
blossom." 


49 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   CLIMATE   OF   PERSIA 

Kesht,   Teheran,  Isphahan — Dryness   of  atmosphere — Cellars — Roof  life — 
Children  attacked  by  jackals — Chequered  history  of  work  in  Kerman. 

"  The  climate's  delicate,  the  air  most  sweet." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

WHEN  speaking  of  the  climate  of  Persia,  Cyrus 
is  supposed  to  have  said,  "  People  perish  with 
cold  at  one  point,  while  they  are  suffocated  with 
heat  at  another,"  and  this  may  be  applied  equally 
well  to  the  climate  of  Persia  to-day,  for  every  town 
has  a  different  climate  according  to  its  height  above 
sea-level.  When  we  land  on  Persian  soil  from  the 
Caspian  we  find  ourselves  some  feet  below  sea-level, 
consequently  the  climate  is  very  damp,  and  vegeta- 
tion is  profuse.  The  rainfall  in  Resht  is  so  great 
that  the  wells  are  often  overflowing,  rain  falling 
during  quite  two-thirds  of  the  year.  Always  having 
thought  of  Persia  as  a  very  dry,  parched  land,  our 
surprise  was  very  great  on  reaching  Resht,  the  port 
on  the  Caspian,  to  see  such  lovely  forests  of  trees, 
and  flowers  in  abundance,  both  wild  and  cultivated. 
Primroses,  anemones,  periwinkles,  cyclamen,  and 
many  other  kinds  of  flowers,  all  were  in  bloom  as 
we  drove  through  Resht  on  our  way  to  Isphahan. 
The  ferns,  too,  were  splendid,  maiden-hair  and  ox- 
tongue being  especially  beautiful.  With  all  these 

50 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

homelike  flowers  and  ferns  around  us,  we  could 
hardly  realise  that  we  were  not  driving  through 
some  dear  Devonshire  lane  in  Old  England.  But 
as  we  mounted,  higher  and  ever  higher  over  the 
Elburz  Mountains,  we  soon  lost  this  English  type  of 
scenery.  The  climate  became  dry  and  warm,  till  by 
the  time  we  reached  Teheran  we  were  thankful 
indeed  for  the  shelter  of  the  comfortable  quarters 
of  our  American  friends,  who  extended  to  us  the 
most  hospitable  kindness  during  our  stay  in  that 
city.  The  climate  of  Teheran  is  very  good ;  its 
winters  are  pleasantly  cold,  and  the  summer  heat  is 
not  so  overpoweringly  great  as  in  other  places. 
Then,  too,  there  are  lovely  summer  gardens  near 
at  hand,  whither  the  residents  can  retire  during  the 
warm  months  of  the  year.  And  for  those  who  love 
the  mountain  heights  there  is  the  beautiful  and 
picturesque  Mount  Demavend,  rising  some  19,400 
feet  above  sea-level.  This  mountain  adds  greatly  to 
the  beauty  of  Teheran,  both  as  regards  its  scenery 
and  climate.  It  stands  as  a  sentinel  guarding  the 
valley  in  which  Teheran  lies,  and  has  an  ever- 
changing  beauty  of  its  own,  with  its  eternal  snows 
catching  and  reflecting  all  the  radiant  hues  of  the 
rising  and  setting  sun.  It  also  forms  a  most 
valuable  health  resort  and  summer  retreat  for  all 
the  heat-wearied  ones  of  the  neighbourhood.  This 
is  the  highest  mountain  in  Persia,  but  there  are 
many  others  from  10,000  to  13,000  feet  high,  so, 
if  necessary,  a  cool  climate  is  to  be  found  at  all 
times  of  the  year.  Once  over  the  Elburz,  the  whole 
of  Persia  is  a  high  plateau  land,  till  we  descend  once 
more  to  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 

51 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

Isphahan  has  a  very  pleasant  climate ;  the  winters 
are  cold  and  bright,  and  it  is  possible  to  enjoy  sitting 
out  in  the  sunshine  most  of  the  winter  months. 
The  mornings  and  evenings  are  cold,  but  the  days 
are  delightful  during  the  sunshine.  The  atmosphere 
here,  as  elsewhere  in  Persia,  is  very  dry,  and  one's 
skin  gets  very  cracked  and  "  chapped,"  not  from 
the  cold,  but  from  the  dryness  of  the  air.  This  is 
the  cause,  too,  of  much  "  nerve "  trouble  amongst 
the  Europeans,  especially,  perhaps,  with  the  ladies. 
In  the  winter  the  natives  warm  themselves  and  their 
rooms  by  means  of  a  "korsi"  (literally,  a  chair). 
This  "  korsi "  is  a  contrivance  for  giving  warmth 
at  a  minimum  cost.  A  hole  is  dug  in  the  floor  of 
the  room  in  which  the  whole  family  live.  Into  this 
hole  is  put  a  clay  or  iron  firepan  full  of  lighted 
charcoal :  above  this,  the  "  korsi,"  a  wooden  frame 
varying  in  size  according  to  the  number  of  the 
family,  is  placed,  and  over  all  is  spread  a  large 
"lahaf"  or  padded  quilt.  All  round  the  "korsi" 
are  placed  soft  mattresses  and  cushions,  and  here 
the  family  pass  the  time  eating,  sleeping,  talking; 
the  "korsi"  acting  as  a  dining-table  and  the 
"lahaf"  as  a  covering  by  day  and  night.  This 
arrangement  is  very  unhealthy,  but  the  natives 
love  it,  and  the  more  friends  and  relations  they 
can  gather  round  the  "  korsi "  the  happier  they  are. 

The  summers  at  Isphahan  are  rather  warm,  but 
there  are  many  places  near  by,  which  are  cool, 
pleasant,  and  within  easy  distance  for  those  whose 
business  keeps  them  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town 
during  the  hot  season. 

There  is  always  plenty  of  ice  to  be  had  during 

52 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

the  summer  here — perhaps  not  always  of  the  cleanest, 
but  still  good  enough  for  the  purpose  of  cooling 
fruits  and  drinks.  The  native  method  of  making  ice 
is  rather  clever.  A  "  yakh  khaneh  "  or  ice-house  is 
generally  situated  outside  the  town  or  near  some 
running  water:  a  trench  is  dug  some  two  or  three 
feet  deep,  and  a  wall  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  is 
built  facing  north  and  south,  thus  shielding  the 
trench  from  all  rays  of  the  sun.  As  soon  as  frost 
sets  in,  an  inch  or  two  of  water  is  let  into  the  trench  : 
this  freezes  during  the  night,  and  the  next  day 
more  water  is  diverted  into  the  hole,  on  top  of 
the  ice.  This  is  repeated  several  days  in  succession, 
till  about  a  foot  or  more  of  ice  is  formed.  This 
is  then  broken  up  and  stored  in  deep  caverns  or 
wells  for  use  during  the  summer.  The  process  is 
continued  as  long  as  the  frost  lasts,  and  thus  there 
is  generally  enough  to  keep  the  town  supplied  with 
ice  during  the  great  heat.  Well-to-do  Persians  have 
their  own  "  yakh  khanehs,"  and  others  use  them  for 
a  means  of  livelihood.  If  the  supply  runs  short 
before  the  hot  season  is  over,  frozen  snow  is  brought 
from  the  mountains ;  but  this  is  very  expensive, 
as  it  has  to  be  brought  such  a  long  distance. 

Yezd  has  a  much  warmer  "hot  season"  than 
Isphahan,  and  the  heat  is  much  more  trying  and  of 
longer  duration.  The  houses  are  essentially  summer 
houses.  The  winters  being  shorter  and  much  less 
severe,  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  comforts  neces- 
sary for  cold  weather,  but  everything  is  considered 
which  will  add  to  the  coolness  and  airiness  of  the 
houses. 

As  a  traveller  approaches  Yezd  he  cannot  fail  to 

53 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

be  struck  by  the  number  of  tall  "  chimneys  "  rising 
from  the  city,  and  he  almost  fancies  he  is  approach- 
ing some  large  manufacturing  town,  and  speculates 
perhaps  as  to  the  nature  of  the  manufactures  pos- 
sible in  such  a  sandy  city  of  the  desert.  But  as 
he  draws  nearer  he  sees  there  is  no  smoke  rising 
from  these  "chimneys/'  and  so  concludes  that, 
after  all,  they  are  not  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
What,  then,  is  the  purpose  of  all  those  tall,  square, 
chimney-like  buildings,  appearing  from  the  roofs  of 
nearly  all  the  dwelling-places  of  Yezd  ?  They  are 
air  shafts,  built  with  the  hope  of  bringing  a  little 
cool  air  into  the  houses  during  the  hot  season,  when 
the  atmosphere  below  is  so  stifling  that  it  seems 
impossible  to  breathe.  These  structures  are  called 
"  bad  geers,"  or  "  wind-catchers."  There  was  a  very 
large  one  connected  with  the  house  in  which  we 
lived  in  Yezd,  and  even  on  the  hottest  days,  some 
air  was  always  to  be  felt  coming  from  the  "  bad 
geer."  It  was  so  arranged  in  our  house  that  after  the 
air  had  been  caught  and  brought  down  by  means  of 
the  chimney,  it  passed  over  a  "  hoze  "  (tank  of  water), 
and  in  this  way  was  cooled  before  circulating  through 
the  house.  Another  aid  to  bearing  the  heat  in  Yezd 
is  the  custom  of  spending  the  middle  part  of  the  day 
underground  in  cellars. 

Some  of  these  cellars  are  quite  palatial,  the  walls 
and  floors  being  made  from  the  famous  Yezd  marble, 
which  closely  resembles  alabaster.  One  such  I  re- 
member very  well :  it  was  a  room  about  40  feet  by 
30  feet,  very  lofty,  and  lit  from  the  top  by  windows 
on  a  level  with  the  ground  above.  In  the  centre  of 

this  room  was  a  "  hoze  "  (water  tank),  of  which  the 

54 


A  CHIMNEY  OF  YEZD 

These  tall  chimney-like  buildings  are  air-shaft*,  constructed  with  the 
hope  of  brin.ing  any  cool  air  which  may  be  circulating  above  the  houses 
into  the  rooms  below.  The  above  is  a  photo  of  the  house  in  which  we 
lived  in  Yezd. 


A  KORSI  OR  HEATINC,  CONTRIVANCE 

In  a  hole  made  in  the  floor  a  pan  of  lighted  charcoal  is  placed.  This  is  covered  by  the  Ivors!, 
a  wooden  frame  varying  in  size  according  to  the  family ;  and  over  this  again  is  spread  the  lahaf  or 
padded  quilt.  This  arrangement  serves  as  a  table,  and  is  an  effectual  but  unhealthy  heating  device. 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

Persians  are  so  fond,  and  rising  from  the  water  was 
a  fountain  capable  of  playing  to  the  height  of  30  feet ; 
a  large  bowl  turned  upside  down  had  been  fixed  on 
the  ceiling  to  catch  the  spray  and  prevent  it  from 
becoming  damp.  Here  the  inmates  of  the  house 
took  their  mid-day  siesta,  and  very  charmingly  cool 
it  was  compared  to  the  upstairs  world.  Some  cellars 
are  not  at  all  healthy,  and,  if  slept  in  during  the  day, 
the  sleepers  are  very  liable  to  contract  malaria  or 
some  other  fever.  When  dry  and  well  ventilated  no 
harm  seems  to  come  from  this  custom  of  retiring 
underground  during  the  great  heat  of  the  day,  and 
certainly  a  good  cellar  is  a  great  boon  to  a  European, 
and  a  great  blessing  when  the  thermometer  registers 
110  in  the  shade  upstairs,  while  in  the  cellar  it  rarely 
goes  above  86  or  90  degrees. 

Scorpions,  centipedes,  tarantulas,  and  suchlike 
creatures  have  a  good  time  in  Yezd.  The  climate 
agrees  with  them,  and  they  thrive  and  enjoy  life  to 
an  alarming  extent.  One  day  my  husband  killed 
three  scorpions  within  the  hour,  two  of  which  were 
the  poisonous  black  kind.  Tarantulas  abounded  in- 
,  side  the  house  and  out.  They  always  seemed  to 
make  a  point  of  running  across  my  path  during 
prayer  times ;  to  say  the  least  it  is  very  disconcert- 
ing to  see  one  of  these  creatures  glide  softly  past 
you  with  the  evident  intention  of  seeking  shelter 
under  your  skirt !  Our  cat  always  used  to  make  a 
dart  directly  he  saw  any  of  these  tarantulas,  just  to 
draw  our  attention  to  them,  but  he  would  never 
kill  one. 

From  life  in  the  cellar  we  pass  to  life  on  the  roof. 
This  was  often  the  most  enjoyable  part  of  the  day. 

55 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

It  is  lovely,  when  the  heat  of  the  day  is  over,  to  lie 
and  watch  the  stars,  knowing  that  the  same  stars 
were  watching  over  our  loved  ones  in  the  Homeland. 

Sleeping  on  the  roof  had  its  disadvantages  as  well 
as  its  attractions  and  advantages.  One  great  disad- 
vantage is  the  fact  that  the  sun  wakes  you  up  so 
early ;  another,  the  talking  and  singing  which  goes  on 
all  round  you  from  the  adjoining  roofs,  often  make 
it  difficult  to  sleep.  In  addition  there  is  this  very 
serious  drawback,  that  often  the  jackals  visit  the  roofs 
of  the  houses  at  night,  seeking  for  something  where- 
with to  appease  their  hunger,  and  if  they  cannot  find 
anything  else  to  satisfy  them  will  attack  sleeping 
children.  On  several  occasions  poor  little  mites  have 
been  brought  to  the  hospital  terribly  mutilated  and 
torn  by  the  jackals,  some  just  slightly  bitten  on  the 
face,  others  so  mauled  and  eaten  as  to  be  quite  un- 
recognisable. One  especially  sad  case  I  remember ; 
the  poor  mother  was  wild  with  grief,  for  her  child,  a 
baby  of  only  a  few  weeks  old,  had  been  almost  eaten 
up  by  these  abominable  creatures. 

Life  on  the  roof  begins  soon  after  sunset.  It  is 
very  interesting  to  watch,  from  a  height,  roof-life 
springing  into  existence.  First  one  and  then  another 
will  bring  out  the  family  bedding,  spread  it  on  the 
floor  of  the  roof  or  on  low  wooden  benches,  and  then 
sit  and  chat  till  dinner-time.  Very  often  the  evening 
meal  is  eaten  on  the  roof,  and  shortly  after  the  family 
retires  to  rest.  A  Moslem  takes  great  pains  to  have 
his  roof  well  shielded  from  the  gaze  of  onlookers,  and 
if  he  is  at  all  suspicious  that  he  is  overlooked  he  will 
immediately  raise  his  wall.  This  being  the  case,  the 
roofs  in  a  Moslem  quarter  are  generally  very  much 

56 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

shut  in  by  high  walls,  which  keep  out  the  air  and 
make  the  nights  much  less  bearable. 

The  climate  of  Kerman  is  almost  perfect  for  those 
who  can  stand  it.  Situated  about  6500  feet  above 
the  sea,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  mountains  and 
deserts,  the  result  is  a  delightful  bracing  air  and  in- 
vigorating climate.  In  Kerman  there  is  no  need  of 
resting  in  cellars  by  day  or  sleeping  on  roofs  by 
night.  Indeed  the  climate  would  be  hard  to  beat 
anywhere.  The  winters  are  charming,  bright  and 
cold,  with  snow-covered  mountains  always  in  view. 
For  a  month  or  two  in  the  summer  it  becomes 
fairly  hot,  when  flies  and  mosquitoes  nearly  drive 
one  wild,  but  it  is  generally  possible  to  get  away  for 
a  little  time,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  year 
the  climate  is  all  that  could  be  desired.  And  yet  it 
seems  strange  that  in  spite  of  all  this  Europeans 
have  found  it  difficult  to  live  there. 

Our  mission  in  its  infancy  had  a  very  chequered 
career,  owing  to  the  breaking  down  in  health  of  its 
missionaries.  The  first  to  open  the  work  there  was  a 
Mr.  Carless,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England. 
He  went  there  a  young  man  in  the  vigour  of  youth, 
and  at  the  end  of  three  years,  having  gained  the  love 
and  admiration  of  Moslem  and  Parsee  alike,  he  was 
laid  in  a  solitary  grave  away  in  the  desert,  in  a  valley 
surrounded  by  hills.  After  a  short  time  his  work 
was  taken  up  by  a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blackett,  but  the 
latter  was  able  to  remain  only  a  few  short  months, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  she  returned  to  England, 
broken  down  and  shattered  in  health.  Then  my 
husband  was  appointed  to  open  Medical  Mission 
work  there.  Unfortunately,  before  the  year  was  out, 

57 


THE    CLIMATE    OF    PERSIA 

we  too  had  to  leave,  this  time  on  account  of  my 
health.  During  our  stay  there  an  English  engineer 
came  to  seek  for  artesian  wells.  After  two  or 
three  months  he  contracted  fever  and  died  at  our 
house,  and  he  too  is  resting  in  that  quiet  spot  amongst 
the  mountains  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Carless.  On  our 
leaving,  another  doctor  was  appointed  to  take  my 
husband's  post,  but  his  stay  in  Kerman  was  not  even 
as  long  as  ours  had  been.  And  so  it  seemed  as  if  the 
work  there  could  not  be  carried  on,  but  fortunately 
this  chapter  of  accidents  has  now  come  to  an  end,  for 
our  missionaries  have  been  living  and  working  there 
for  some  three  or  four  years.  All  agree,  too,  in  saying 
that  the  climate  is  a  very  healthy  one,  provided  the 
people  living  there  have  sound  hearts  ! 


58 


CHAPTER  V 

HOLIDAYS   IN   PERSIA 

How  to  ensure  a  prosperous  journey — Natanz — Astonishment  of  natives  at 
sight  of  hairpins — Pnlivagoon — Mahoon — Aliabad — Prince  under  canvas 
— Visit  from  a  Persian  princess — A  Persian  deer-hunt. 

"  If  all  the  year  were  playing  holidays, 
To  sport  would  be  as  tedious  as  to  work." 

SHAKESPEAEE. 

IN  a  climate  such  as  has  been  described  in  the  fore- 
going chapter,  it  is  necessary  for  the  sake  of 
health  to  get  away  during  a  part  of  the  hot  season. 
Fortunately  there  are  suitable  places  near  at  hand  to 
each  of  the  large  cities,  so  it  is  no  very  difficult 
matter  to  get  away  for  a  few  weeks.  The  difficul- 
ties lie  rather  in  reaching  these  places,  and  in  trans- 
porting all  one's  belongings — at  least  all  those  that 
are  absolutely  necessary — to  the  place  chosen. 

After  having  decided  upon  the  desirability  of 
having  a  holiday,  the  next  thing  is  to  fix  a  day  of 
departure.  This  sounds  easy  to  say.  Yes,  it  is 
quite  a  simple  matter  for  you  to  say,  "  We  will  start 
on  such  and  such  a  day,"  but  you  are  perhaps 
reckoning  without  considering  your  muleteer.  On 
the  morning  appointed  you  rise  early,  see  that  every- 
thing is  in  readiness,  and  then  sit  down  to  wait  for 
the  baggage  animals  to  arrive.  Time  goes  on,  the 
sun  begins  to  get  hot,  and  no  sign  of  the  muleteer 

or  mules,  so  by-and-by  you  send  your  servant  to 

59 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

investigate  matters,  and  he  brings  back  with  him  the 
muleteer,  who  smiles  sweetly  and  says,  "  Ensha'allah 
farda  (to-morrow,  God  willing)  we  will  start  on  our 
journey."  His  mules  have  gone  to  a  village,  and 
will  be  back  "  ensha'allah  farda."  We  can  console 
ourselves  that  very  likely  the  same  thing  will  occur 
again  on  the  next  day.  It  is  always  "  farda "  with 
these  people,  so  we  must  try  to  possess  our  souls  in 
patience,  and  hope  for  the  best.  Persians  are  never 
in  a  hurry,  and  cannot  understand  why  it  should 
make  any  difference  whether  we  start  "  to-day  "  or 
"to-morrow."  Oh,  those  endless  "fardas"!  how 
tired  we  got  of  them  before  we  had  been  very  long 
in  the  land.  But  it  is  good  to  learn  patience,  and 
the  sooner  you  have  mastered  this  lesson  well,  the 
happier  will  you  be  living  in  the  East. 

Preparing  for  a  holiday  in  Persia  is  rather  a 
different  matter  to  starting  off  at  home  for  the  sea- 
side or  elsewhere.  Everything  has  to  be  taken — pots 
and  pans,  tables,  chairs,  beds  and  bedding — in  fact, 
everything  that  is  necessary  for  four  or  five  weeks' 
stay  in  a  house  where  nothing  is  provided  but  the 
bare  walls.  It  is  wonderful  what  a  number  of  things 
are  necessary  even  for  a  short  stay,  in  the  so-called 
simple  life. 

The  natives  are  very  superstitious  about  many 
things  when  starting  on  a  journey.  For  instance,  it 
is  very  unlucky,  in  their  eyes,  to  proceed  if  any  of 
the  party  happens  to  sneeze  on  the  point  of  starting. 
They  would  much  rather  postpone  the  start  for  a 
more  propitious  occasion,  than  disregard  this  bad 
omen.  I  heard  of  one  man  who  insisted  on  con- 
tinuing his  journey  in  spite  of  the  warning  given  in 

60 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

the  form  of  a  sneeze,  and  the  consequence  was  he  fell 
off  his  mule  and  broke  his  leg  !  The  natives  also  are 
careful  to  have  a  good  supply  of  copper  coins  ready 
when  starting  on  a  journey,  to  give  to  the  beggars. 
Whenever  we  left  home  our  servants  always  dis- 
tributed freely  to  the  poor  who  were  living  around, 
to  ensure  a  blessing  on  our  journey,  but  they  never 
forgot  to  put  the  amount  down  in  the  daily  account ! 

While  in  Persia  we  had  some  very  enjoyable 
holidays,  but  as  I  could  not  endure  the  altitude  we 
were  never  able  to  go  to  the  mountains,  which  of 
course  make  the  ideal  summer  resorts.  However, 
we  managed  to  find  some  very  pretty  and  fairly  cool 
places  in  the  plains  or  on  slightly  elevated  ground. 
Our  first  holiday  in  Persia  was  spent  in  a  very  pretty 
little  village  called  Natanz.  I  had  been  taken  ill  on 
our  way  to  Isphahan,  and  the  lady  doctor  who  came 
out  to  meet  us  suggested  our  going  for  a  week  or  so 
to  this  little  village  before  entering  Isphahan.  Spring 
was  already  well  advanced,  and  it  is  difficult  to  recruit 
in  the  hot  season. 

Natanz  is  a  picturesque  little  village,  slightly  off 
the  general  route,  so  that  the  natives  had  not  then 
become  very  much  used  to  Feringhis  staying  with 
them,  and  our  coming  caused  no  little  excitement. 
We  arrived  there  about  twelve  o'clock  one  night,  and 
were  conducted  to  our  room  by  an  admiring  throng, 
and  this  throng  continued  to  "  admire  "  for  the  whole 
time  we  were  there.  The  windows  of  our  room  were 
composed  of  lattice  work  only,  so  all  interested  could 
always  have  a  good  view  of  our  movements.  On 
waking  in  the  morning  there  were  our  faithful 

followers  to  be  seen  with  their  faces  flattened  against 

61 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

the  trellis  work,  waiting  for  us  to  wake,  and  see  what 
we  were  going  to  do  next !  At  times  this  interest 
shown  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  was  a  trifle 
embarrassing,  but  as  often  as  they  were  driven  away 
by  our  servant  just  as  often  did  they  return  again 
whenever  his  back  was  turned.  For  the  first  day  or 
two  I  did  not  leave  the  room,  but  when  I  felt  stronger 
I  used  to  sit  in  a  chair  outside  the  window  reading 
or  writing.  The  moment  my  husband  left  me  the 
women  all  swarmed  round  like  bees,  full  of  curious 
questions.  Unfortunately  at  that  time  I  was  not 
able  to  talk  to  them,  not  knowing  the  language,  but 
I  could  make  out  what  they  were  saying  to  a  great 
extent  from  their  gestures.  My  fountain  pen  was  a 
cause  of  great  amusement  and  astonishment,  as  were 
also  my  hairpins.  The  delight  of  some  of  the  women 
on  being  presented  with  a  hairpin  was  very  funny. 
They  seemed  to  think  I  stuck  them  into  my  head, 
as  into  a  pincushion.  At  first  the  women  were 
rather  shy,  as  they  could  not  be  quite  sure  whether  I 
was  a  man  or  a  woman,  but  one  of  them  came  and 
peeped  under  my  hat  and  seeing  I  had  long  hair  con- 
cluded I  was  a  woman.  My  husband  received  a  visit 
from  the  governor  of  the  village,  who  was  very 
delighted  to  see  an  English  hakeem.  We  were 
quite  sorry  when  our  little  holiday  in  Natanz  was 
over,  but  being  anxious  to  push  on  to  Isphahan, 
did  not  care  to  prolong  our  stay  longer  than  was 
necessary. 

Our  next  holiday  was  in  the  summer  of  the  same 
year  1900.  This  time  we  went  only  a  few  hours' 
drive  out  of  Isphahan  to  a  place  called  Pulivagoon. 
It  was  a  very  pretty  little  village,  and  a  nice  house, 

62 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

belonging  to  the  Zil  es  Sultan,  had  been  lent  to  us 
for  a  month.  The  house  was  built  practically  on  the 
river,  as  our  windows  hung  right  over  the  water, 
and  the  sound  of  its  rushing  torrent  reminded  us  of 
the  lapping  of  the  waves  on  the  seashore  in  dear  Old 
England.  There  were  some  lovely  woods  near  by, 
to  which  we  often  used  to  take  our  tea,  and  pass  the 
time  pleasantly  paddling,  bathing,  and  fishing  in  the 
river.  The  following  year  we  were  at  Kerman,  and 
went  for  our  holidays  to  a  lovely  garden  about  nine 
hours'  ride  from  the  city.  Mahoon  lies  very  high  ;  it 
must  be  at  least  6700  feet  above  sea-level.  The 
climate  is  beautiful,  but  the  altitude  proved  too  high 
for  me  to  enjoy  it  much.  We  had  a  very  tiring  ride 
from  Kerman ;  starting  one  day  soon  after  noon  we 
rode  for  three  or  four  hours,  then  had  a  refreshing 
cup  of  tea  under  the  shadow  of  a  large  spreading 
tree.  But  we  could  not  afford  to  linger,  for  we  still 
had  a  good  half  of  our  journey  before  us,  so  once 
more  we  mounted  our  respective  steeds,  hoping  to 
reach  our  destination  about  nine  o'clock,  but  alas  for 
our  hopes  !  Nine  o'clock  came  and  went,  and  still  we 
seemed  no  nearer ;  ten  o'clock,  and  still  no  sign  of  our 
village.  It  was  now  pitch  dark,  and  we  were  all 
very  tired  and  hungry,  and  I  was  so  dead  beat  that 
I  could  hardly  sit  upright  on  my  animal.  My 
husband  rode  close  by  my  side,  to  be  in  readiness  in 
case  I  should  fall  off  in  myt  sleep.  To  the  oft-re- 
peated question,  "  How  much  farther  ? "  the  answer 
always  came,  "  Ensha'allah — only  half-an-hour."  Oh, 
those  half-hours,  how  wearisome  they  became !  I 
did  so  wish  that  they  would  say  two  hours  or  three 
hours  for  a  change,  for  the  everlasting  half-hour  was 

63 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

so  tantalising.  Our  servants  told  me  afterwards  that 
they  said  this  to  keep  up  my  spirits,  as  they  thought, 
if  they  told  the  truth  about  the  distance,  "  the 
Khanum's  heart  would  melt  within  her."  At  last, 
just  after  midnight,  we  heard  a  very  energetic  coo-ing 
ahead  of  us,  and  knew  that  at  last  we  were  within 
sound  of  rest  and  food.  It  was  so  dark  that  we 
could  not  find  the  path  leading  to  the  garden,  and 
our  animals  went  floundering  about  over  great 
boulders  of  stones  or  stumbling  into  ditches,  and  of 
course  all  in  the  wrong  direction,  till  some  one  met 
us  and  conducted  our  tired  party  into  the  house. 
Here  we  found  that  our  baggage  animals,  with  Bagi 
and  the  other  servants,  had  not  yet  turned  up,  though 
they  had  started  an  hour  or  two  before  us.  They 
did  not  arrive  till  morning,  so  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  lie  down  on  bare  boards  and  go  to  sleep 
supperless.  The  only  drinking  vessel  to  be  found 
was  a  saucepan,  from  which  we  had  a  most  refreshing 
drink  of  water  and  retired  to  our  luxurious  couch, 
sleeping  as  well  and  as  soundly  as  if  we  were  lying 
on  beds  of  softest  down.  We  were  awakened  about 
eight  o'clock  next  morning  by  the  sound  of  bells,  and 
knew  that  our  belated  caravan  had  come  in.  While 
they  were  settling  disputes  and  unpacking  we 
strolled  off  into  the  garden  to  dip  our  faces  into  the 
cool  water  that  was  flowing  through  the  grounds. 
It  was,  or  rather  had  been,  a  magnificent  garden,  but, 
like  everything  else  in  Persia,  was  even  then  fast 
falling  into  decay.  There  was  water  in  abundance, 
flowing  on  both  sides,  and  fountains  playing  on  the 
top  terrace  and  also  at  the  foot  of  the  garden.  The 
whole  garden  was  built  in  a  series  of  terraces,  and 

64 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

steps  led  from  one  level  to  the  next.  The  houses 
and  gardens  had  been  built  by  H.H.  Farman 
Farma,  at  one  time  governor  of  Kerman,  and  must 
have  cost  a  great  deal  of  money. 

We  took  up  our  quarters  in  the  house  at  the  top 
of  the  garden,  and  after  a  few  days  our  consul  came 
out  from  Kerman  and  occupied  the  lower  one.  We 
spent  a  very  enjoyable  month  here,  riding,  shooting, 
bathing,  &c.  My  husband  opened  a  dispensary  for 
the  villagers,  to  which  he  went  two  mornings  each 
week,  and  the  people  appreciated  this  very  much,  as 
I  do  not  think  they  had  ever  had  an  English  doctor 
amongst  them  before.  We  much  enjoyed  the  use  of 
the  Persian  "  hammam  "  (bath)  while  there.  It  com- 
prised a  series  of  rooms  built  a  little  way  off  from 
the  house ;  each  room  was  built  of  marble  and  blue 
tiles.  The  first  or  outer  room  was  simply  for  rest- 
ing in,  having  a  fountain  in  the  centre ;  passing 
through  this,  you  entered  a  large  vaulted  room,  which 
was  used  for  a  dressing-room  and  "  cooling-down " 
place  ;  from  this  you  passed  to  the  actual  hammam, 
which  was  a  large  tank  of  water  about  15  feet  by  10 
feet,  and  from  1  to  6  feet  deep,  shelving  gradually  in 
depth  from  the  edge.  This  had  not  been  used  for 
some  years  apparently,  but  my  husband  had  it  cleaned 
out  and  filled  with  fresh  water,  and  we  were  very 
thankful  for  it  during  the  hot  weather.  At  first  we 
tried  taking  our  afternoon  siesta  in  the  outer  or 
resting-room,  but  found  it  too  feverish  ;  however, 
we  were  able  to  sit  in  it  during  the  early  part  of 
the  day,  and  generally  had  our  Persian  lesson  there, 
as  it  was  easier  to  work  in  the  cool.  We  always 
made  our  holidays  a  time  for  language  study,  as  my 

65  E 


husband  rarely  could  find  time  for  it  while  at  work 
in  the  city,  and  we  both  longed  to  be  able  to  speak 
Persian  properly.  I  must  say  the  natives  were  always 
wonderfully  good  and  patient  over  our  mistakes,  and 
never  laughed,  however  terrible  and  feeble  our  at- 
tempts at  conversation  might  be.  Unfortunately, 
just  as  we  were  beginning  to  feel  our  way  in  Persian 
a  little,  we  had  to  start  learning  a  new  language,  so 
to  a  great  extent  we  have  forgotten  our  Persian. 

Our  last  holiday  in  Persia  was  spent  in  Aliabad, 
a  dear  little  village  about  ten  hours'  drive  from 
Yezd.  H.R.H.  the  Jalal  el  Dowleh  (nephew  of  the 
late  Shah)  kindly  lent  us  a  house  there,  and  as  it 
was  rather  a  small  one,  he  erected  a  large  tent  in 
the  garden  for  us,  which  did  duty  as  dining  and 
sitting-room  combined.  The  Jalal  also  kindly  lent 
us  one  of  his  carriages  to  drive  from  Yezd  to  Alia- 
bad. The  first  part  of  the  way  the  road  was  very 
good.  We  left  Yezd  just  before  sunset,  reaching 
our  half-way  place  shortly  before  midnight.  Here 
we  had  to  rest  the  horses  till  morning,  so  we  spent 
the  night  in  a  garden  by  permission  of  the  owner. 
Spreading  a  rug  on  the  ground,  and  using  two  of  the 
carriage  cushions  as  pillows,  we  spent  a  very  com- 
fortable night,  and  awoke  in  the  early  morning  fresh 
and  ready  for  the  second  part  of  our  journey.  We 
were  off'  before  sunrise,  as  we  wished  to  reach  our 
destination  before  the  great  heat  of  the  day  began. 
I  shall  never  forget  that  drive.  For  the  greater  part 
of  the  way  there  was  not  even  a  semblance  of  a  road, 
and  the  whole  path  was  strewn  with  huge  stones  and 
boulders  ;  it  was  a  marvel  to  me  how  the  carriage 
ever  got  safely  over  them.  But  oh,  the  jolting  and 

66 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

the  shaking !  Driving  up  the  Pyramids  would  be 
smooth  and  easy  compared  to  the  horrors  of  that 
road !  We  repented  often  of  having  accepted  the 
kind  offer  of  the  carriage,  as  the  saddle  is  much 
more  preferable  on  such  roads.  However,  all  things 
come  to  an  end  to  those  who  have  patience ;  so  at 
last  this  memorable  drive  ended,  and  we  were  very 
thankful,  about  ten  o'clock,  to  see  the  trees  of  our 
village  rising  on  the  horizon.  We  found  the  little 
house  very  comfortably  arranged  and  breakfast  wait- 
ing for  us  in  the  tent,  as  our  servants  had  pushed  on 
instead  of  resting  during  the  night. 

Aliabad  contained,  I  suppose,  some  fifty  houses, 
all  of  which  were  occupied  by  Moslems  of  rather  a 
fanatical  type.  It  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
mountains  and  hills,  and  this  gave  it  a  rather  shut-in 
feeling  at  times.  After  sunset,  too,  it  was  very  chilly 
and  damp,  as  there  were  so  many  gardens  lying 
under  water  at  that  time,  this  being  the  usual  method 
of  irrigation.  I  wanted  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  the  village  women,  so  I  let  it  be  known  that  I 
should  generally  be  in  the  garden  during  the  morn- 
ing, and  should  welcome  all  who  came  to  see  me. 
In  this  way  I  saw  most  of  the  women,  but  they 
were  not  very  responsive  on  the  whole.  It  was  here, 
sitting  in  the  garden  one  morning,  that  I  tried  to 
learn  from  them  how  to  "  tell  the  beads  "  according 
to  the  Moslem  method,  but  I  found  it  too  intricate 
and  difficult.  I  managed,  however,  to  master  one 
very  simple  method  of  trying  the  beads  for  good  or 
ill  fortune.  This  was  as  follows :  holding  the  rosary 
before  you  in  both  hands,  you  separate  a  certain 
number  of  the  beads ;  then,  closing  your  eyes,  you 

67 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

"  tell "  them,  repeating  the  mystic  words  "  Adam, 
Eve,  Satan,"  until  the  last  bead  is  reached.  If  this 
happens  to  be  "Adam,"  the  luck  is  sure  to  be  of 
the  best ;  if  "  Eve,"  the  result  is  neutral,  and  the 
beads  must  be  counted  again ;  while  "  Satan  "  indi- 
cates the  worst  of  fortune,  and  would  absolutely 
prevent  any  one  from  undertaking  any  contemplated 
action. 

It  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  the  women 
counting  their  beads  and  mumbling  to  themselves, 
"  Adam,  Hava,  Shaitan  (Adam,  Eve,  Satan), 
Adam,  Hava,  Shaitan,"  before  making  up  their 
minds  as  to  whether  they  should  drink  their  medi- 
cine or  not.  Or  perhaps  some  patient  has  been 
advised  an  operation,  and  he  is  trying  his  beads  to 
see  whether  the  doctor's  advice  is  to  be  taken  or  not. 
It  is  a  strange  thing  that,  when  they  very  badly  want 
to  do  a  thing,  they  can  generally  make  it  come  to 
"  Adam,"  or  else  they  keep  on  repeating  the  words 
till  it  does  come  to  the  lucky  name,  and  then  they 
are  happy. 

When  we  had  been  in  Aliabad  some  days  the 
prince-governor  of  Yezd  brought  his  "  anderoon  " 
to  the  same  village.  Of  course  there  was  no  accom- 
modation for  them  in  the  village,  so  they  erected  a 
town  for  themselves.  It  sprang  up  in  one  night, 
and  looked  in  the  morning  as  if  a  large  company  of 
soldiers  had  suddenly  come  along  and  fixed  their 
camp.  The  ladies'  quarters  consisted  of  about  twenty 
large  tents,  and  were  enclosed  by  a  huge  canvas 
wall,  quite  shutting  them  off  from  the  outside  world. 
The  prince  had  his  reception  tents  and  others  outside 

the  wall,  but  quite  near  to  it. 

68 


HOLIDAYS    IN    PERSIA 

A  day  or  two  after  their  arrival  the  princess  sent 
down  her  carriage  for  me,  with  a  request  that  I 
would  go  and  see  her,  which  I  gladly  did,  and  found 
her  surrounded  by  all  her  home  comforts,  and  dressed, 
as  usual,  in  some  lovely  silk  costume.  After  this 
she  always  sent  for  me  about  three  times  a  week, 
and  we  had  walks  and  talks  together.  Whenever 
we  came  to  a  garden,  she  and  her  ladies  always 
gathered  the  cucumbers  and  onions  and  ate  them, 
thoroughly  enjoying  the  impromptu  picnic,  and  never 
giving  a  thought  to  the  poor  unfortunate  owner, 
who  dared  not  voice  a  remonstrance,  however  much 
his  garden  was  stripped  of  its  produce. 

A  eunuch  or  two  always  went  before  when  the 
princess  walked  out,  to  warn  off  any  of  the  dreaded 
mankind  who  happened  to  be  about.  One  day  the 
prince  gave  permission  for  his  wife  to  come  and  call 
upon  me.  This  was  the  first  time  she  had  ever  been 
allowed  to  pay  a  visit.  I  was  sorry  we  were  not 
in  our  own  house,  as  I  should  have  liked  to  show 
her  an  English  home.  However,  we  made  the  place 
as  tidy  and  home-like  as  possible  for  her  reception. 
My  husband  had  to  be  banished,  and  also  all  the 
men-servants.  Bagi  (our  woman  servant)  prepared 
all  the  refreshments,  but  the  princess's  own  servants 
handed  them  to  her,  as  Bagi  was  a  Parsee,  and  it 
would  have  meant  defilement  for  a  Moslem  to  take 
food  from  a  despised  follower  of  Zoroaster. 

The  prince  spent  most  of  his  time  hunting,  and 
my  husband  went  with  him  on  several  occasions. 
The  sport  did  not  seem  to  be  veiy  exciting,  from 
all  accounts.  The  Jalal  would  take  with  him  about 
thirty  to  forty  of  his  followers,  and  form  a  kind  of 

69 


HOLIDAYS    IN   PERSIA 

cordon  round  the  spot  where  the  gazelles  were  known 
to  be ;  they  then  gradually  closed  in,  each  rider 
knowing  and  keeping  his  own  position.  At  last 
the  gazelles  would  be  sighted,  and  all  would  gallop 
madly  towards  the  spot,  and  shoot  as  they  got 
within  range. 

We  were  kept  so  well  supplied  with  venison 
during  those  holidays  that  I  felt  I  never  wanted 
to  taste  it  again ! 

Quite  near  to  Aliabad  there  were  some  large 
caves  in  which  the  natives  had  stored  frozen  snow, 
so  that  even  in  the  height  of  summer  we  were  able 
to  have  a  large  block  of  ice  every  day. 

Altogether  our  time  at  this  little  village  was  very 
enjoyable,  and  we  were  quite  sorry  when  our  holiday 
was  over  and  we  had  to  return  to  the  broiling  heat 
of  Yezd. 


70 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOCIAL   LIFE   IN    PERSIA 

Kerman — House-hunting  and  building — White  ants — Housekeeping  in 
Kerman — Servant  question — Truth  v.  falsehood — Abdul  Fateh — Bagi 
— Recreations — Some  exciting  rides — Persian  etiquette — Dinner  at  the 
governor's. 

"  Society  is  no  comfort  to  one  not  sociable." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

rflHE  social  life  of  Europeans  in  Persia  differs 
-L  very  much  according  to  the  town  lived  in. 
In  some  parts  much  life  and  gaiety  are  to  be  found, 
and  in  others  this  element  is  conspicuous  by  its 
absence.  In  Teheran,  where  we  have  our  Legation, 
of  course  social  life  is  at  its  height.  At  Isphahan, 
too,  there  is  quite  a  large  European  community. 
When  we  were  there  in  1900  and  1903  there  must 
have  been  at  least  fifty  Europeans,  and  very  happily 
and  sociably  all  lived  together.  From  Isphahan  we 
went  to  Kerman,  where  for  some  five  or  six  months 
we  were  the  only  foreigners,  but  in  spite  of  having 
none  of  our  own  countrymen  to  call  upon  or  visit, 
we  were  very  happy.  After  a  time  a  British  consul 
was  appointed,  and  we  felt  quite  gay,  and  I  at  once 
started  a  European  "at  home"  day,  and  every 
Wednesday  our  consul  was  a  most  regular  visitor. 
He  was  always  very  homesick,  and  liked  anything 
that  helped  to  remind  him  of  dear  Old  England. 
On  one  occasion  we  actually  mustered  four 

71 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

Englishmen  to  dinner,  as  two  travellers  happened 
to  be  passing  through  at  the  same  time,  one  of 
whom  was  Mr.  Savage  Landor,  who  entertained  us 
with  most  harrowing  accounts  of  his  time  amongst 
the  Thibetans.  Just  before  we  left  two  English 
ladies  arrived,  so  the  social  life  at  Kerman  began 
to  grow,  and  to-day  it  boasts  of  quite  a  number 
of  Europeans,  consisting  of  consuls  of  various 
nations,  as  well  as  missionaries,  bank  and  telegraph 
employees. 

When  we  arrived  at  Kerman  we  found  great 
difficulty  in  choosing  and  leasing  a  house.  Many 
were  only  too  anxious  to  show  us  their  houses,  and 
to  assure  us  that  all  their  property  belonged  to  us, 
to  do  what  we  liked  with ;  but  when  it  came  to 
making  definite  arrangements  it  was  quite  a  different 
matter.  So  long  as  it  was  only  "talk"  the  various 
would-be  landlords  were  willing  to  promise  every- 
thing and  anything,  but  it  was  quite  another  question 
when  suggestions  were  made  as  to  the  desirability  of 
committing  those  promises  to  paper.  At  last  we 
settled  on  a  house  outside  the  town,  which  possessed 
a  nice  large  garden,  but  the  house  itself  only  con- 
sisted of  about  two  rooms,  and  these  were  in  a  very 
tumble-down  and  filthy  condition. 

The  landlord  (a  Parsee)  promised  to  build  accord- 
ing to  our  plans,  and  to  spend  the  whole  of  the  first 
three  years'  rent  in  making  improvements  and  addi- 
tions to  the  house.  The  consequence  of  this  delight- 
ful arrangement  was  that  during  the  greater  part  of 
our  time  in  Kerman  building  operations  were  going 
on,  and  only  just  as  we  were  leaving  was  the  work 

completed  and  the  house  made  inhabitable.     But  in 

72 


HOUSE-BUILDING    IN    PERSIA 

The  houses  are  built  chiefly  of  sun-dried  bricks   of  earth  and  chopped  straw,  and  then  plastered 
on  the  outside.     The  bricks  are  generally  made  on  the  premises. 


PERSIAN  SHOPS 

A  peep  into  the  ba/aars  of  Isphahan.     In  the^e  open  shops  all  goods  are  exposed  to  view, 
and  the  passer-by  is  invited  10  take  a  seat  and  inspect 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

the  end  a  very  fairly  comfortable  house  was  built, 
and  has  been  occupied  ever  since,  I  believe,  by  our 
C.M.S.  missionaries. 

Our  garden  was  very  large,  but  only  half  of  it 
had  been  cultivated ;  the  further  end  we  had  hoped 
to  have  made  into  a  tennis  court,  but  unfortunately 
we  had  to  leave  before  it  was  possible  to  do  so.  All 
the  bricks  used  for  building  were  made  from  the 
earth  of  the  garden.  The  process  is  simplicity  itself. 
Water  is  mixed  with  the  earth  till  it  becomes  a 
thick  mud,  then  it  is  stamped  into  the  required  shape 
by  means  of  a  wooden  block,  and  then  left  in  the 
sun  to  dry.  Sometimes  straw  is  mixed  with  the 
mud,  when  it  is  necessary  to  have  very  strong  bricks. 

Directly  we  moved  into  our  house  I  found  to  my 
horror  that  it  was  infested  with  white  ants.  This 
was  my  first  experience  of  these  wretched  little 
creatures,  and  I  hope  it  may  be  my  last.  They  are 
disturbers  of  one's  peace  of  mind,  for  once  they  are 
settled  in  a  house  it  is  impossible  to  get  rid  of  them, 
and  the  only  thing  to  hope  for  is  that  by  continu- 
ally waging  war  against  them  you  may  keep  them 
slightly  in  subjection.  I  remember  so  well  the 
day  I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  these  noxious 
things.  I  had  with  much  difficulty  succeeded  in 
finishing  our  drawing-room,  and  considering  all 
things  I  may  be  forgiven  if  I  confess  to  having  felt 
a  certain  amount  of  pride  as  I  looked  at  the  result 
of  my  labours.  Certainly  it  was  not  too  luxurious  ; 
but  it  was  comfortable  and  "  homey."  Alas !  my 
pride  soon  had  a  fall.  After  a  day  or  two  my  hus- 
band had  need  of  some  book,  and  upon  taking  it 

from  the  shelf  found  it  eaten  half  through !     I  then 

73 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

began  to  hunt  about,  and  found  the  room  was  swarm- 
ing with  these  abominations,  under  the  carpets, 
behind  the  pictures,  cosily  ensconced  in  books — every- 
where they  were  having  a  right  royal  time.  From 
that  moment  almost  to  the  day  we  left,  I  never 
ceased  to  hunt  and  destroy  these  ubiquitous  ants. 
We  were  having  two  new  rooms  built,  and  I  said  to 
my  husband,  "  One  comfort  is  that  the  ants  cannot 
be  in  the  new  rooms;"  but,  alas,  my  hopes  were 
vain !  The  builders  had  used  an  old  piece  of  wood 
for  a  beam  on  which  the  ceiling  rested,  and  this  was 
infested  with  white  ants,  and  so  in  a  very  short  time 
they  had  that  room,  too,  to  revel  in.  I  tried  all 
manner  of  things  to  get  rid  of  them,  but  found 
the  most  successful  remedy  was  pouring  petroleum 
down  the  holes  from  which  they  came.  This  drove 
them  away  from  that  hole,  but  they  only  burrowed 
a  little  further,  seeking  for  a  new  outlet.  Nothing 
could  or  can  destroy  them.  As  long  as  the  queen 
ant  remains  they  can  never  be  exterminated.  An 
English  engineer  who  came  to  Kerman  told  me  that, 
when  he  was  living  in  India,  he  was  building  a  house, 
and  before  he  laid  the  foundations  he  offered  large 
rewards  for  all  queen  ants  found  in  the  grounds  near, 
for,  said  he,  "  This  is  the  only  way  to  ensure  freedom 
from  these  pests."  He  also  told  me  that  one  night 
he  left  his  evening  shoes  out  in  his  room,  and  in  the 
morning  the  leather  was  eaten  half  away.  I  can 
quite  believe  this  now,  after  having  seen  for  myself 
their  tremendous  digestive  powers. 

One  of  our  missionaries  had  to   leave   Kerman 
quite  suddenly  while  we  were  there.     Before  leaving 

he  packed  all  his  most  valued  books  into  tin-lined 

74 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

cases  and  had  them  soldered  down,  thinking  they 
would  be  safe  against  the  intrusions  of  white  ants. 
Shortly  after  his  departure  we  suspected  these 
wretches  of  being  at  work  amongst  the  books,  and 
so  came  to  the  conclusion  we  had  better  open  and 
see.  There,  sure  enough,  they  were,  and  busily  they 
had  been  engaged  too,  for  like  "  Mother  Hubbard 
who  went  to  the  cupboard,"  when  we  went  to  the 
box  we  found  it  bare !  if  not  quite,  almost  so ;  for, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  stout  leather  covers,  all 
trace  of  Mr.  Blackett's  valuable  library  was  gone ! 
Such  are  the  literary  instincts  of  white  ants.  But 
indeed  nothing  comes  amiss  to  their  tastes — books, 
boots,  pictures,  carpets,  clothes,  papers — all  vanish 
under  the  business-like  efforts  of  these  horrible 
creatures.  What  with  white  ants  and  bad  servants  to 
contend  and  combat  with,  housekeeping  in  Kerman 
was  enough  to  turn  one's  hair  grey !  The  struggle 
was  unequal,  and  I  generally  got  the  worst  of  it. 

To  begin  with,  the  servants  we  had  brought  with 
us  from  Isphahan  refused  to  stay  in  such  an  out-of- 
the-world  spot  as  Kerman,  so  no  sooner  had  we 
begun  to  unpack  than  first  one  and  then  another 
declared  his  intention  of  going,  until  we  were  left 
stranded.  Then  began  the  joys  of  servant-hunting. 
In  some  parts  of  Persia  this  is  not  a  difficult  task, 
but  in  Kerman  it  was  practically  impossible  to  find 
a  decent  servant,  or  one  that  knew  anything  about 
his  work. 

The  chief  drawback  to  Kerman  domestics  is  the 
fact  that  they  are  all  opium-smokers.  The  native 
saying  in  Kerman  is,  "  That  every  fourth  man  out 
of  three "  is  an  opiurn-smoker.  Although  this  may 

75 


be  a  slight  exaggeration,  yet  it  was  decidedly  hard  to 
find  any  one  who  was  not  addicted  to  this  terrible 
habit.  Awful  specimens  presented  themselves  as 
"  cooks,"  but  one  look  at  them  was  enough !  At 
last  a  veritable  "  Uriah  Heep "  offered  his  valuable 
services  to  us ;  he  came  armed  with  wonderful 
credentials  and  menu  cards.  These  latter  he  claimed 
to  have  successfully  negotiated  when  in  the  employ 
of  some  Frenchman,  but  I  have  grave  doubts  as  to 
the  veracity  of  this  statement.  On  the  strength 
of  these  menus  we  thought  we  could  not  do  better 
than  engage  him ;  so  he  came,  and  proved  himself 
to  be  a  most  aggravating  specimen  of  humanity, 
specially  formed,  I  believe,  to  try  the  patience  and 
tempers  of  poor  unsuspecting  foreigners.  Nothing 
ever  put  him  out  or  ruffled  his  sweet  amiability. 
How  I  wished  it  would,  and  that  he  would  depart 
in  wrath  and  anger  at  my  repeated  complaints 
against  him !  But  no,  nothing  of  the  kind ;  he 
came  to  stay,  and  stay  he  did,  till  he  bade  us  an 
affectionate  and  touching  farewell  on  our  departure 
from  Kerman.  His  money  accounts  were  always 
atrociously  high,  but  so  cleverly  did  he  manage  them 
that  I  could  rarely  detect  him  cheating,  and  at  last 
I  gave  it  up  as  a  hopeless  task,  concluding  the  game 
was  not  worth  the  candle. 

When  we  were  alone  his  cooking  was  passable — 
at  least  it  was  generally  eatable ;  but  if  ever  we 
had  friends  to  dinner  he  always  managed  to  surpass 
himself  with  some  act  of  stupidity  or  wickedness, 
I  never  could  make  out  which  it  was. 

On  one  occasion  the  English  consul  and  one 
or  two  others  were  dining  with  us.  We  had  safely 

76 


KERMAN 

A  photo  taken  from  the  top  of  our  hou»e  in  Kerman,  showing  the  mountains  in  the  distance  and 
our  garden  in  the  foreground.  The  circular  roofs  are  those  belonging  to  our  kitchens,  the  round  hole 
at  the  top  being  the  only  means  of  ventilation. 


A  STREET  IN  KERMAN 

A  corner  of  a  street  in  Kerman,  leading  into  the  long,  coveted  bazaar. 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

reached  the  '*  sweet "  stage,  and  I  was  just  begin- 
ning to  congratulate  myself  that  this  time,  at  any 
rate,  our  lovely  cook  was  not  going  to  disgrace 
himself  or  play  any  trick.  Just  then  a  "  chocolate 
cream "  was  handed  round.  It  looked  all  right. 
The  consul  took  some,  tasted  it,  and  promptly 
laid  down  his  fork ;  his  example  was  followed  by 
others.  I  hastily  called  the  "  boy "  to  bring  me 
some,  and  on  tasting  it  found  to  my  horror  that 
the  chocolate  cream  was  highly  flavoured  with 
naphthalene !  We  had  lately  received  a  box  from 
home;  in  it  was  some  of  this  useful  stuff  for  de- 
stroying moths ;  doubtless  the  cook  thought  it  was 
a  nice  and  specially  delicate  flavouring  for  puddings  ! 
On  another  occasion  I  had  been  experimenting  on 
some  dessert  dish,  which  necessitated  part  of  the 
ingredients  soaking  for  an  hour  or  two  over  a  slow 
fire.  I  put  everything  ready,  and  left  strict  in- 
junctions with  "  Uriah "  that  he  was  to  touch 
nothing,  and  so  I  left.  Shortly  after,  feeling  rather 
uneasy  as  to  the  welfare  of  my  concoction,  I  re- 
turned to  the  kitchen,  just  in  time  to  see  the 
wretched  man  pouring  my  "  Dream  of  Delight " 
down  the  sink  !  I  confess  to  having  been  guilty 
then  for  the  first  and  last  time  of  boxing  a  servant's 
ears  ;  but  really  was  the  provocation  not  great  ? 

Another  of  our  "  treasures "  was  a  man  called 
Neamat  'allah.  He  was  a  splendid  "  show  man," 
but  no  good  for  work  of  any  kind.  He  shone  when 
visitors  came,  as  he  felt  the  dignity  of  his  Sahib 
depended  in  a  great  measure  on  him. 

Then  there  was  an  awful  boy,  Rustem.  I  did 
my  best  to  make  him  into  a  decent  parlour-maid, 

77 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

but  utterly  failed.  Although  only  about  eighteen 
years  of  age,  he  was  a  confirmed  slave  to  the  opium 
habit.  His  chief  forte  was  smashing  crockery  and 
telling  lies.  Of  course  we  never  expected  our  ser- 
vants to  speak  the  truth,  but  this  boy  seemed  the 
most  incorrigible  of  all.  One  day  he  said  to  me, 
after  I  had  been  trying  to  instil  into  his  mind  some 
idea  as  to  why  we  should  speak  the  truth,  "  Well, 
Khanum,  what  is  the  use  of  my  speaking  the  truth, 
for  if  I  did  you  would  not  believe  me,  and  would 
only  say  it  was  a  lie  ? "  This  is  true,  I  am  afraid, 
to  a  great  extent,  for  after  being  deceived  so  often 
one  gets  sceptical  about  the  possibility  of  a  native 
speaking  the  truth,  especially  if  he  is  an  opium- 
smoker  too.  And  yet  sometimes  they  look  at  you 
so  innocently,  with  such  an  air  of  injured  righteous- 
ness, that  you  begin  to  wonder  if  after  all  they 
are  not  for  once  speaking  the  truth  ;  but,  alas,  the 
wonder  soon  passes  ! 

Shortly  before  leaving  Kerman  we  were  fortu- 
nate enough  to  secure  the  services  of  a  real  treasure 
in  the  person  of  an  Indian.  He  came  to  Kerman 
with  his  master,  Mr.  Patrick  Duncan,  whose  object 
was  to  sink  artesian  wells,  but  unfortunately  he 
died  before  his  work  was  completed.  His  man, 
Abdul  Fateh,  was  heartbroken  at  the  death  of  his 
master,  as  he  had  been  with  him  for  many  years. 
He  begged  my  husband  to  engage  him,  and  very 
gladly  we  did  so,  and  he  proved  a  great  comfort  to 
us  all  our  time  in  Persia,  acting  as  "  pishkhedmat " 
(chief  servant),  not  only  being  good  and  honest 
himself,  but  keeping  the  others  up  to  their  work, 

and    not    allowing   them    to   cheat   us   too    much. 

78 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  servants  I  must  say 
just  a  word  about  our  woman  servant ;  she  was  such 
a  dear  little  body — a  Parsee.  We  called  her  Bagi, 
which  means  a  female  servant.  She  had  been  with 
Miss  Sykes  for  a  time,  so  knew  a  little  about  Feringhi 
ways.  She  was  a  picturesque  figure,  waddling  about 
the  house  in  her  big  baggy  trousers  and  her  gaily 
coloured  overall  reaching  to  her  knees,  while  on  her 
head  she  wore  the  usual  number  of  coverings,  in 
compliance  with  the  Zoroastrian  idea  that  a  woman's 
head  must  be  well  covered  !  It  is  a  great  "  shame  " 
for  a  Parsee  woman  to  be  seen  with  her  head  un- 
covered. One  day  Bagi  had  been  washing  her  hair, 
and  the  doctor  happened  to  see  her  in  passing  be- 
fore she  had  replaced  her  many  coverings.  She 
came  to  me  in  great  distress  to  know  what  was  she 
to  do.  The  Sahib  had  seen  her  with  her  head  un- 
covered ! 

The  recreations  of  Kerman  are  confined  almost 
entirely  to  horse  riding.  There  are  many  very  good 
picnic  places  near  by,  and  an  excellent  stretch  of 
desert  for  a  canter  or  gallop,  but  not  so  good  as  the 
desert  outside  Yezd.  When  we  first  went  to  Kerman 
I  was  told  that  I  must  on  no  account  ride  through 
the  bazaars,  as  no  Englishwoman  had  ever  been  seen 
in  them.  I  might  ride  outside  the  town  and  view 
the  bazaars  from  a  safe  distance,  but  this  did  not 
fall  in  with  my  ideas  at  all,  and  as  soon  as  we  were 
fairly  settled  down  in  our  house  I  asked  my  husband 
to  take  me  to  see  the  bazaars.  So  one  afternoon 
we  started  off  to  try  the  experiment,  taking  with 
us  two  servants,  one  to  walk  in  front  and  one  be- 
hind, my  husband  and  I  riding  our  horses.  I  will 

79 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

not  say  that  as  we  entered  the  dark,  dreary-looking 
archways  leading  to  the  bazaars  my  heart  did  not 
beat  a  little  faster  than  usual,  as  I  thought  of  all 
the  horrible  things  which  had  been  told  me  as  to 
what  might  happen  when  first  an  Englishwoman 
was  seen  in  the  open  bazaar.  After  a  few  minutes, 
however,  I  saw  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  for  be- 
yond a  good  stare  and  a  few  curses  from  some  of 
the  people,  nothing  happened.  I  had,  of  course, 
taken  the  precaution  of  wearing  a  thick  veil.  My 
second  ride  through  these  same  bazaars  was  much 
more  exciting.  It  was  during  the  time  of  the 
Passion  Play  in  the  month  of  Mohurram,  referred 
to  in  another  chapter.  As  we  were  riding  quietly 
along  we  suddenly  came  across  the  whole  company 
of  excited,  maddened  creatures  returning  to  their 
homes  after  the  play  was  over.  The  crowd  was 
headed  by  about  a  hundred  men,  whose  garments 
were  streaming  with  blood,  their  heads  and  faces 
covered  with  gashes  of  all  sorts  and  sizes.  In  their 
hands  they  held  and  waved  frantically  their  swords 
or  daggers. 

Our  servants  were  fearfully  alarmed,  and  hurriedly 
turned  our  horses'  heads  into  a  narrow  passage,  and 
hoped  the  crowd  would  not  notice  us.  But  un- 
fortunately they  did,  and  with  a  wild  cry  of 
"  Feringhi !  Feringhi ! "  they  immediately  formed 
up  just  in  front  of  the  opening  to  our  passage  and 
began  their  wild  dance  for  our  benefit.  It  was 
rather  a  gruesome  sight  in  the  dimly-lighted  bazaars 
to  see  a  hundred  or  more  naked  swords  flashing, 
blood  on  everything  and  everybody,  men  yelling, 
shouting,  cursing,  and  dancing.  We  were  not  sorry 

80 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

when  in  a  few  minutes  they  took  it  into  their  heads 
to  move  on,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that  they  had  paid 
great  honour  to  the  Feringhis  by  this  exhibition  for 
their  special  benefit.  After  this  experience  I  felt 
there  certainly  was  no  longer  any  need  for  fear,  and 
since  then  we  have  all  ridden  and  walked  quite  freely 
in  and  through  the  bazaars.  Only  once  was  I  spat 
upon  in  Persia,  and  that  was  in  Yezd. 

Persians  have  often  been  called  the  Frenchmen 
of  the  East.  They  certainly  are  a  most  courteous 
and  polite  people,  outwardly  at  all  events,  and  are 
masters  in  the  art  of  paying  compliments  to  one 
another.  But  to  a  novice  it  is  no  light  matter  to 
know  just  the  right  amount  of  flattery  to  deal  out, 
as  it  is  almost  as  bad  a  mistake  to  give  any  one  a 
great  deal  too  much  flattery  as  not  to  give  him 
enough.  The  art  lies  in  knowing  just  what  is  due 
to  each  person,  according  to  the  rank  of  life  he 
occupies.  When  you  wish  to  visit  any  one  it  is 
not  polite  to  send  word  to  say,  "  I  am  coming." 
You  must  couch  your  message  in  much  more 
flowery  language,  such  as,  "  I  want  to  honour  my- 
self by  coming  to  see  your  nobleness."  The  answer 
will  be  "  Bis'millah  —  Please  bring  your  tashrif 
(dignity)."  There  is  great  etiquette,  too,  over  the 
kalian-smoking  and  tea-drinking,  each  one  depre- 
catingly  suggesting  that  his  neighbour  should  par- 
take first  and  the  other  declining  the  honour  with  a 
sweeping  bow ;  but  every  one  knows  who  is  entitled 
to  the  first  whiff  of  the  kalian  or  the  first  cup  of 
tea,  and  no  one  would  dare  to  think  of  defrauding 
him  of  his  right. 

It  seems  such  a  pity  that  Persians  of  high  class 

81  F 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

are  gradually  falling  into  European  ways,  for  they 
do  not  suit  these  Frenchmen  of  the  East  half  so 
well  as  their  own  manners  and  customs. 

While  we  were  in  Kerman  the  governor  was  one 
who  had  lived  in  Europe  a  good  deal,  and  liked 
everything  done  a  la  Feringhi ;  he  much  enjoyed 
English  afternoon  teas,  home-made  cakes,  &c.  Soon 
after  our  arrival  there  an  invitation  came  from  the 
governor  for  dinner  the  following  week.  On  the 
evening  appointed  a  carriage  came  for  us  and  drove 
us  to  the  "  Arg,"  as  the  house  of  the  governor  is 
called.  We  found  a  splendid  dinner  waiting  for  us, 
served  in  French  style,  about  twenty  courses  of 
excellently  cooked  dishes.  After  dinner  we  were 
amused  by  Persian  musicians  and  singers.  We  were 
entertained  by  the  nephew  of  the  governor,  who 
apologised  for  the  absence  of  his  uncle,  who,  he 
said,  was  suffering  from  a  bad  attack  of  fever  which 
prevented  his  presiding  at  the  table.  We  heard 
afterwards  that  the  real  reason  of  his  non-appearance 
was  not  fever,  but  a  fear  of  being  laughed  at.  He 
knew  how  things  ought  to  be  done  according  to 
European  fashion,  and  was  afraid  that  he  had  not 
all  the  necessaries  to  carry  out  a  dinner  successfully, 
and  so  preferred  not  to  show  himself.  However, 
when  he  saw  how  splendidly  the  first  dinner-party 
went  off  he  decided  to  give  another,  so  in  about  a 
week's  time  we  received  a  second  invitation  to 
dinner.  This  time  the  governor  himself  took  the 
head  of  the  table,  and  did  the  honours  of  it  well, 
too.  He  certainly  had  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of, 
for  everything  was  served  in  perfect  French  style. 

From  the  soup  to  the  dessert,  with  all  the  inter- 

82 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    PERSIA 

mediary  courses,  everything  was  dished  up  in  per- 
fect taste  and  on  good  china.  The  glass  and  table 
decorations  would  not  have  disgraced  a  European 
table. 

The  Governor  of  Yezd,  on  the  other  hand,  pre- 
ferred to  hold  more  to  his  own  traditions,  and  I 
have  much  enjoyed  a  meal  there  with  his  family, 
served  and  eaten  in  true  Persian  style. 


83 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   WOMEN   OF   PERSIA 

Home  life — Anderoon,  women's  quarters — Jealousy  in  the  anderoon — An- 
deroon  of  Khan  Baba  Khan — Two  days  in  an  anderoon — H.R.H.  Princess 
Hamadane  Sultane — Visit  to  the  anderoon  of  H.R.H.  the  Zil-es-Sultan. 

"  The  more  your  prayers  to  me,  the  more  will  your  wives  be  in  Paradise." 

From  LIFE  OF  AL-JAZULI. 

"Women  are  weak,  as  you  say,  and  love  of  all  things  to  be  passive, 
Passive,  patient,  receptive,  yea,  even  of  wrong  and  misdoing, 
Even  to  force  and  misdoing,  with  joy  and  victorious  feeling, 
Patient,  passive,  receptive  ;  for  that  is  the  strength  of  their  being, 
Like  to  the  earth  taking  all  things  and  all  to  good  converting." 

A.  H.  CLOUGH. 

WHILST  in  Persia  I  had  a  good  many  opportu- 
nities of  becoming  well  acquainted  with  some 
of  the  Moslem  women,  especially  in  Kerman,  as  there 
I  was  for  some  time  the  only  Englishwoman,  and 
naturally  the  women  liked  to  see  as  much  of  me  as 
possible,  in  order  to  see  and  hear  about  life  amongst 
the  Feringhis.  The  Persian  women  are  much  more 
volatile  and  genial  than  their  Arab  sisters,  but  on  the 
whole  I  prefer  the  latter,  perhaps  because  I  have  had 
so  much  more  to  do  with  them.  The  Persian  lady 
is  ready,  the  moment  she  sees  you,  to  shower  com- 
pliments upon  you  and  to  tell  you  how  much  she 
loves  you,  while  her  more  austere  sister  of  Arabia 
takes  time  to  consider  whether  you  are  a  person  to 
be  trusted  or  not ;  and  if  after  a  time  she  does  give 
you  her  love,  it  is  something  worth  the  having. 

84 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

When  I  first  went  to  Persia  I  found  the  questions 
of  the  women  most  disconcerting,  but  after  a  time, 
if  their  conversation  became  too  objectionable,  I 
always  told  them  it  was  not  our  custom  to  talk  on 
such  subjects,  and  they  generally  took  the  hint,  at 
any  rate  for  the  time  being.  When  in  Kerman  I 
started  an  "  At  Home "  for  Moslem  ladies,  and  in 
this  way  I  got  to  know  some  of  them  very  well,  and 
also  by  visiting  them  in  their  homes.  They  quite 
liked  the  idea  of  an  "  At  Home "  day,  and  I  well 
remember  our  first  one.  About  twenty  ladies  came, 
each  one  attended  by  a  slave  or  two  and  a  small  boy 
to  guard  their  shoes,  which  of  course  they  left  at  the 
door.  It  was  quite  a  business  unrobing  all  these 
ladies  from  their  black  silk  "  chuddars,"  and  arranging 
each  lady  in  her  respective  place,  according  to  the 
honour  due  to  her.  We  had  in  our  drawing-room 
a  long  divan,  about  12  feet  by  6,  occupying  the 
whole  of  one  end  of  the  room,  and  cushioned  accord- 
ing to  Eastern  ideas.  On  this  about  twelve  of  the 
ladies  seated  themselves  and  looked  very  comfortable 
and  at  ease,  while  the  rest  sat  on  chairs  arranged 
round  the  room,  and  looked  most  uncomfortable  and 
uneasy.  By-and-by  I  noticed  first  one  foot  being 
tucked  up  and  then  another,  till  most  of  the  ladies 
were  sitting  native  fashion  on  their  chairs,  and  it 
looked  so  curious  I  could  hardly  keep  from  smiling. 
After  all  were  settled,  and  their  chuddars  and  veils 
carefully  folded  up  and  put  aside  by  the  slaves,  then 
the  kalian  or  water-pipe  was  brought  in,  each  slave 
preparing  the  pipe  for  her  own  mistress. 

I  had  arranged  that  my  woman-servant,  Bagi, 
should  hand  round  tea,  but  the  ladies  were  horrified 

85 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

at  the  idea  of  taking  tea  which  had  been  poured  out 
by  a  Parsee,  as  they  believed  it  would  make  them 
unclean  for  I  don't  know  how  long ;  so  my  poor 
Bagi  had  to  take  a  back  seat  and  see  others  take 
her  place.  My  next  "  At  Home  "  day  I  was  wiser, 
and  secured  the  services  of  the  mother  of  our  syce, 
who  was  a  Moslem,  as  I  did  not  like  to  see  a  strange 
woman  doing  the  honours  of  the  tea-table. 

Amongst  the  ladies  that  day  was  the  wife  of  one 
of  the  ex-governors  of  Kerman,  and  the  good  lady 
did  not  let  any  one  forget  that  fact !  They  were 
always  most  interested  in  seeing  and  hearing  all 
about  Feringhi  life,  and  were  specially  interested  in 
photographs  and  pictures.  One  lady  said  to  me 
directly  she  was  seated,  "  I  want  to  see  a  picture  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  "  and  on  my  showing  her  one,  she  most 
reverently  kissed  it  and  put  it  to  her  forehead.  They 
much  enjoyed  listening  to  our  little  organ,  and  one 
lady  was  so  delighted  that  she  gave  her  husband  no 
peace  till  he  bought  her  one,  and  then  nothing  would 
satisfy  her  but  I  must  go  and  teach  her  how  to  play. 
As  her  instrument  arrived  from  Teheran  with  half 
its  notes  missing,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  her 
musical  talent  (?)  was  somewhat  put  to  the  test. 
However,  she  was  very  proud  of  her  instrument, 
and  quite  happy  playing  with  one  finger  an  accom- 
paniment to  some  weird  Persian  song. 

Of  "  home  life  "  in  Persia  there  is  none ;  there  is 
no  word  in  their  language  for  "  home,"  and  so  it  plays 
no  part  in  their  lives.  Life  in  the  home  varies  very 
much  according  to  the  rank  of  the  husband.  The 
poorer  wives  and  village  women  are  blessed  by  being 

obliged  to  work,  but  the  better  class  have  absolutely 

86 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

nothing  to  do,  from  morning  till  night,  but  smoke, 
drink  tea,  and  talk  scandal.  The  poorer  wife  is  cer- 
tainly the  better  off  of  the  two,  for  she  has  to  rise 
early  in  the  morning  to  get  her  husband  his  early  cup 
of  tea  before  he  goes  off  to  work ;  then  she  has  the 
house  to  look  after  and  the  children  to  think  of  and 
sew  for ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  evening  meal  of 
pillau  or  kabob  to  cook  ere  her  lord  and  master 
returns  from  his  labours ;  while  her  less  fortunate 
neighbour  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  talk  of  the  latest 
scandal  of  the  anderoon,  and  then  to  pay  a  visit  to 
another  anderoon  to  tell  and  receive  the  latest  news 
there. 

The  anderoon  is  that  part  of  the  house  which  is 
given  up  to  the  women,  and  is  as  a  rule  the  best  part 
of  the  house,  for  there  the  men  of  the  house  retire 
when  their  work  is  done,  to  be  waited  on  and  fussed 
over  by  the  womenfolk. 

When  a  man  is  well  off  and  has  more  than  one 
wife,  he  generally  keeps  them  in  separate  compounds ; 
but  often  two  will  be  living  together  in  the  same 
anderoon,  and  as  a  rule  they  do  not  love  each  other 
very  much. 

The  great  and  chief  causes  of  jealousy  in  the 
anderoon  are  the  children,  or  rather  lack  of  children. 
For  instance,  a  young  bride  is  brought  to  her  hus- 
band's house,  and  for  a  time  she  is  the  pet  and 
favourite  of  her  husband,  and  all  is  well ;  but  if  as 
time  passes  no  child  comes  to  cheer  her  heart,  then 
the  husband  soon  tires  of  his  new  plaything  and  looks 
about  for  a  new  and  prettier  one,  till  one  sad  day  the 
poor  young  wife  hears  that  her  husband  is  about  to 
bring  home  another  to  share  her  life  and  home.  We 

87 


can  imagine  what  rage  and  jealousy  will  burn  in  her 
heart,  and  howr  she  will  hate  the  new  inmate  of  the 
anderoon,  and  especially  if  after  a  time  her  enemy 
becomes  the  mother  of  a  boy.  Then  her  hatred 
reaches  a  climax,  and  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon 
for  her  to  have  recourse  to  the  "  cup  of  coffee  "  either 
for  herself  or  her  enemy.  That  "  cup  of  coffee"  is  a 
most  useful  (?)  institution  in  Persia,  as  it  is  often  very 
difficult  to  detect  the  poison  hidden  therein. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  even  to  think  of  the  miseries 
through  which  some  of  these  poor  women  pass  ;  and 
if  we  see  how  unhappiness  and  wretchedness  is  fos- 
tered in  an  anderoon  containing  two  wives,  how  much 
more  miserable  and  awful  must  be  the  life  when  the 
number  of  wives  is  multiplied  by  two  or  even  more. 

But  while  there  are  many  unhappy  anderoons,  yet 
as  "  the  exception  proves  the  rule  "  in  most  cases  so 
it  does  here.  For  I  remember  one  home  in  which 
two  wives  were  living  in  apparent  peace  and  happi- 
ness ;  but  here,  again,  there  was  reason  for  their  unity, 
as  neither  of  them  had  any  children,  and  so  there  was 
no  cause  for  jealousy.  Their  husband  was  an  aristo- 
cratic old  man  of  about  seventy  years  of  age,  and  he 
had  taken  these  two  young  wives  to  cheer  his  old 
age.  He  had  a  little  son  by  one  of  his  many  former 
wives,  of  whom  he  was  passionately  fond,  and  this 
boy  was  very  ill  for  some  months,  suffering  from  heart 
disease.  His  two  young  wives  nursed  this  boy  day 
and  night  in  a  most  devoted  manner,  and  apparently 
really  loved  the  boy,  and  were  very  sorry  when  he 
died.  It  was  owing  to  this  boy's  illness  that  we  had 
the  opportunity  of  spending  two  days  in  the  anderoon 

of  Khan  Baba  Khan,  and  very  pleasant  and  interest- 

88 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

ing  days  they  were  too.  It  was  the  year  that  we 
were  in  Kerman,  and  we  had  just  gone  away  for  our 
summer  holiday  to  that  lovrely  garden  of  Mahoon, 
when  one  day  a  very  urgent  messenger  came  to  my 
husband  from  Khan  Baba  Khan  begging  him  to  go 
and  see  his  boy,  who  was  very  ill.  The  old  man  had 
sent  his  carriage  for  us,  with  instructions  to  his  man  to 
drive  the  doctor  straight  to  his  garden,  situated  some 
sixteen  miles  on  the  other  side  of  Kerman,  where  the 
boy  had  been  taken  ill.  As  soon  as  we  were  ready  we 
started  off,  but  could  only  reach  Kerman  that  night, 
where  we  rested,  and  the  next  day  arrived  at  the 
garden  of  the  Khan. 

It  was  a  very  pretty  garden,  with  plenty  of  trees 
and  running  water.  On  our  arrival  we  were  ushered 
into  the  room  prepared  for  us,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  poor  little  invalid  was  brought  in,  and  even  then 
he  seemed  to  have  the  mark  of  death  on  his  face ; 
but  he  was  a  very  self-willed  boy,  and  every  one  had 
to  humour  him  in  everything,  as  the  fits  of  temper 
which  he  indulged  in  were  very  dangerous  for  him  in 
his  weak  state  of  health.  While  the  doctor  was 
examining  and  prescribing  for  the  invalid  in  another 
room  the  two  ladies  came  to  see  me,  and  brought  a 
very  appetising  dinner ;  chickens  cooked  to  perfec- 
tion and  pillaus  formed  the  staple  part  of  the  meal. 
The  ladies  then  retired,  and  my  husband  and  I 
thoroughly  enjoyed  our  first  meal  taken  together  in 
a  Persian  anderoon. 

After  dinner  my  husband  again  visited  the  patient, 
and  the  ladies  came  to  prepare  our  room  for  the  night. 
This  was  quite  an  elaborate  undertaking.  First  of 
all,  a  huge  mosquito  net  was  fixed  up  by  attaching 

89 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

the  four  corners  to  tapes  and  nailing  them  to  the 
wall.  The  underneath  part  of  the  net  rested  on  the 
floor ;  on  this  the  mattresses  were  placed,  so  that 
once  you  were  inside  the  net  you  were  in  what  seemed 
like  a  good-sized  room.  In  fact,  during  the  next  two 
days  we  used  to  sit  inside  the  net  reading  or  writing, 
as  outside  there  was  no  respite  from  the  plague  of 
mosquitoes  and  sandflies.  Sleeping  on  the  floor  is 
very  comfortable ;  in  fact,  I  don't  quite  see  the  need 
of  bedsteads,  unless  the  room  is  infested  with  rats  or 
other  creeping  creatures  !  The  next  two  days  passed 
very  pleasantly ;  whenever  my  husband  went  out  of 
the  room,  almost  simultaneously  I  would  hear  a  voice 
at  the  window  asking  permission  to  enter,  and  the 
ladies  would  come  in  for  a  chat.  We  became  great 
friends,  and  this  friendship  lasted  till  we  left  Kerman 
some  months  later,  and  then  the  Khan  lent  us  his 
carriage  to  drive  to  Yezd,  as  he  wished  to  express  his 
gratitude  for  all  my  husband  had  done  for  his  boy. 
Unfortunately  the  boy  even  then  was  past  human 
aid,  and  after  two  or  three  months  of  suffering  he 
died. 

I  have  always  been  glad  of  these  two  days  actu- 
ally spent  in  a  Persian  home,  as  it  enabled  me  to 
see  what  their  everyday  life  really  was ;  but  as  I 
have  said,  this  was  quite  an  exceptionally  happy 
anderoon,  with  none  of  the  wrangling  and  quarrel- 
ling generally  connected  with  the  homes  of  Persian 
women. 

While  in  Yezd  I  met  and  soon  became  very 
friendly  with  a  most  charming  Persian  lady.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  late  Shahs,  and  thus 
was  a  princess  in  her  own  right ;  her  husband  was  a 

90 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

nephew  of  the  late  Shah,  so  she  was  doubly  connected 
with  Persian  royalty. 

H.R.H.  Princess  Hamadane  Sultanewas  in  many 
ways  quite  unlike  the  majority  of  Persian  ladies. 
She  was  a  strong-minded,  clever  woman,  and  was 
very  anxious  that  her  children  should  be  brought  up 
in  European  fashion.  These  children  certainly  had  a 
very  good  time  compared  with  other  Persian  children, 
as  their  mother  refused  to  let  them  become  little 
women  before  they  had  passed  out  of  childhood's 
days,  and  although  they  were  then  nine  and  ten 
years  old  were  generally  playing  with  their  dolls  or 
other  toys  brought  from  Paris  for  their  amusement. 
The  princess  very  much  wished  her  children  to  learn 
English,  but  I  suggested  that  she  should  learn  it 
herself  first  and  then  teach  it  to  her  children.  To  this 
she  gladly  consented,  and  so  twice  a  week  I  used  to 
go  up  and  give  her  lessons.  She  quickly  got  over 
the  ABC  stage,  as  she  had  some  slight  knowledge 
of  French,  and  took  a  great  delight  in  picking  out 
the  words  of  an  easy  English  reader,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  she  greeted  me  in  very  quaint  broken 
English  :  "  Good  morning ;  I  hope  you  are  well." 
Unfortunately,  I  had  to  leave  my  interesting  pupil 
at  this  stage,  as  we  were  leaving  Persia  for  England, 
and  I  never  saw  her  again ;  but  I  have  heard  that 
she  continued  her  English  lessons  for  some  time.  I 
do  not  think  I  ever  knew  any  one  with  so  many 
dresses  as  this  princess  had ;  every  time  I  saw  her 
she  appeared  in  a  different  costume,  and  always  in 
rich  silks,  satins,  or  brocades.  I  asked  her  once  if 
she  knew  how  many  gowns  she  possessed,  and  she 

confessed  that  she  had  no  idea,  and  added  that  it 

91 


would  not  be  at  all  right  for  me  to  see  her  more  than 
once  in  the  same  dress  !  And  I  certainly  never  did, 
although  I  was  visiting  her  twice  weekly  for  some 
months. 

This  good  lady  exercised  a  very  great  influence 
over  her  husband  (a  most  unusual  thing  in  Persia), 
partly,  perhaps,  on  account  of  her  social  position  and 
also  because  she  possessed  a  large  amount  of  property 
in  her  own  right.  Before  she  came  to  live  with  her 
husband  in  Yezd  she  said  she  would  only  come  with 
the  understanding  that  she  was  to  be  the  only  wife, 
and  I  believe  the  prince  kept  to  the  agreement  as 
long  as  she  was  with  him.  But  he  must  have  found 
it  very  hard,  for  I  have  heard  that  before  his  wife 
came  no  girl  dared  be  out  after  dusk,  so  afraid  were 
they  of  the  prince  and  his  courtiers. 

One  day  I  was  visiting  in  the  anderoon  in  company 
with  the  lady  doctor  who  was  attending  one  of  the 
children,  and  lunch  was  announced  ;  so  the  prince 
made  us  sit  down  with  them  and  partake  of  the 
mid-day  meal.  After  lunch  the  prince  amused  him- 
self by  vaccinating  all  the  children  he  could  lay  hands 
on  (not  his  own,  but  those  of  the  servants).  The 
children  did  not  seem  to  see  the  joke  quite  so  much 
as  the  prince  did  1  They  were  much  too  frightened 
to  run  away,  and  stood  trembling  in  their  shoes  wait- 
ing for  their  turn  to  come.  At  that  time,  too,  no 
one  in  the  anderoon  dared  say  they  had  toothache,  for 
if  they  did  immediately  the  prince  would  call  for  his 
forceps,  and  out  would  come  a  tooth.  Perhaps  it 
might  happen  to  be  the  offender,  but  just  as  likely  it 
would  be  an  innocent  tooth  which  had  never  given 
its  owner  a  moment's  pain ! 

92 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

I  shall  never  forget  the  delicious  coffee  which  was 
always  served  when  visiting  at  this  house.  It  was  a 
mixture,  I  helieve,  of  coffee  and  chocolate ;  and  I 
have  never  tasted  anywhere  such  coffee.  I  asked 
the  princess  to  give  me  the  recipe,  but  my  make 
never  came  up  to  the  original,  and  I  think  perhaps 
they  did  not  mean  it  to  ! 

The  princess  was  very  fond  of  sending  to  Paris 
for  boxes  of  goods  on  approval,  and  it  was  rather 
amusing  to  be  there  when  the  things  arrived.  Some- 
times most  beautiful  Parisian  blouses  would  come, 
quite  unsuitable  for  her ;  but  she  loved  to  try  them 
on  and  then  put  them  away,  never,  perhaps,  to  be 
looked  at  again.  I  have  very  pleasant  memories  of 
my  friendship  with  Princess  Hamadane,  and  have  as 
a  ydd  gari  (remembrance)  a  lovely  silver  tray  of 
Persian  work,  which  she  presented  to  me  on  our 
leaving  Yezd ;  also  the  photographs  of  her  three 
children — two  girls  and  a  boy. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  tell  of  all  the  interesting 
visits  paid  to  different  anderoons ;  but  I  should  like 
to  mention  some  visits  paid  to  the  anderoon  of  the 
Zil-es-Sultan,  a  brother  of  the  late  Shah.  He  was 
then  Governor  of  Isphahan,  and  my  husband  at  that 
time  was  taking  charge  of  the  medical  work  there 
for  a  year. 

The  governor  one  day  sent  his  carriage,  with  the 
request  that  the  English  doctor  would  go  to  see  one 
of  his  wives,  and  also  bring  his  wife  with  him ;  so  we 
went,  and  had  a  very  pleasant  three-mile  drive  from 
Julfa  to  Isphahan.  Arriving  at  the  palace,  we  were 
met  by  the  chief  eunuch  and  conducted  to  the  ande- 
roon, into  a  large  room  surrounded  by  glass  mirrors. 

93 


THE    WOMEN    OF    PERSIA 

Here  in  a  far  corner,  seated  on  the  ground,  was 
"  something  "  covered  with  what  looked  like  a  large 
white  sheet.  This  "  something  "  turned  out  to  be 
one  of  the  ladies  of  the  anderoon,  who  was  suffering 
from  dimness  of  sight.  She  was  one  of  the  prince's 
favourite  wives,  and  so  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to 
allow  her  to  see  the  doctor.  After  a  great  deal  of 
palaver  she  consented  to  lift  a  corner  of  her  chuddar, 
and,  while  shielding  the  other  part  of  her  face,  to 
uncover  her  eyes.  Her  husband  was  very  anxious 
for  her  eyes  to  be  thoroughly  examined,  and  he 
ordered  a  dark  room  to  be  speedily  prepared,  so  that 
the  examination  should  be  as  complete  as  possible. 
While  we  were  waiting  for  the  room  and  lamp  to  be 
ready  the  prince  took  out  a  little  pocket-mirror  from 
his  waistcoat  and  carefully  looked  to  see  if  his  hair 
was  in  perfect  order,  and  then,  having  satisfied  himself 
that  all  was  as  it  should  be,  he  entered  into  conversa- 
tion with  my  husband  over  the  state  of  his  wife's 
eyes. 

Another  day  I  paid  quite  an  informal  friendly 
visit  to  two  or  three  of  his  wives.  Each  wife  had  a 
separate  compound  to  herself,  and  her  own  set  of 
servants  and  slaves,  and  no  wife  was  allowed  to  visit 
another  without  special  permission  from  the  chief 
eunuch  or  from  the  prince  himself. 

That  afternoon  two  or  three  had  asked  for  and 
received  permission  to  drink  tea  in  the  house  to  which 
we  had  been  invited,  so  we  had  quite  a  nice  little  tea- 
party,  and  a  very  gay  one  too  so  far  as  the  costumes 
were  concerned ;  but  the  subject  of  dress  being  so 
stupendous,  we  will  leave  it  for  another  chapter. 

94 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MORE   ABOUT   PERSIAN   WOMEN 

Costumes — Wedding  festivities — Wedding  dinner— Kindness  of  Persian 
husbands— Story  of  brutality — Divorce — Aids  to  beauty — Degradation 
and  cruelty  of  women. 

"  Women  are  made  by  men : 
The  nations  fade  that  hold  their  women  slaves  : 
The  souls  of  men  that  pave  their  hell-ward  path 
With  women's  souls  lose  immortality." 

JOHN  DAVIDSON. 

nnHE  indoor  costume  of  the  Persian  women  is  not 
-L  at  all  pretty  or  graceful.  It  consists  of  a  short, 
loose  jacket,  generally  made  of  some  gaily  coloured 
material,  and  in  the  case  of  rich  women  of  bright 
brocaded  silk  or  velvet,  and  a  very  short  skirt,  just 
the  length  of  a  ballet  dancer's.  In  fact  their  dress  is 
an  exact  copy  of  the  Parisian  ballet  dancer.  Many 
years  ago  all  the  women  wore  those  picturesque  baggy 
trousers,  with  long  flowing  garments  over  them,  but 
while  one  of  the  late  Shahs  was  visiting  Europe  he 
saw  the  ballet  dancer,  and  his  fancy  was  so  taken  by 
the  costume,  that  on  his  return  he  ordered  all  the 
inmates  of  the  royal  harem  to  adopt  the  same  dress ; 
and  as  royalty  always  sets  the  fashion  for  the  country, 
in  a  short  time  all  the  Moslem  women  of  Persia 
had  adopted  this  hideous  fashion. 

I  remember  so  well  the  first  time   I   saw  this 
costume ;  it  was  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  we 

95 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

first  arrived  in  Isphahan.  After  dinner  Miss  Stuart 
(the  bishop's  daughter)  and  I  were  walking  on  the 
roof  of  their  house,  when  suddenly  a  woman  appeared 
on  the  other  side  of  a  wall  and  began  chattering  with 
Miss  Stuart.  I  felt  inclined  to  look  the  other  way, 
thinking  the  good  lady  had  forgotten  to  complete  her 
toilet,  but  seeing  that  Miss  Stuart  did  not  seem  sur- 
prised, I  supposed  it  was  all  right,  and  so  began  to 
feel  more  at  ease  ;  but  certainly  the  first  sight  of  these 
costumes  is  rather  alarming,  especially  if  the  woman 
is  not  wearing  the  long  stockings,  as  they  generally 
do,  but  often  leave  off  in  very  hot  weather.  On  their 
heads  they  wear  a  square  of  white  muslin,  and  flowing 
down  their  backs,  and  attached  by  a  pin  to  their  hair, 
is  a  long,  graceful  chuddar,  generally  made  of  a  pretty 
muslin  or  silk ;  and  as  the  women  walk  about  the 
house,  these  chuddars  flow  behind,  and  look  very 
graceful  indeed.  The  ladies  do  not  like  the  fashion 
of  the  short  skirts,  and  many  were  the  requests  made 
to  me  to  cut  out  dresses  such  as  I  was  wearing,  and 
if  I  had  wished,  I  could  have  had  my  time  in  Kerman 
fully  occupied  in  cutting  out  dresses  according  to 
European  fashion  ;  but  with  the  exception  of  pleasing 
two  or  three  of  my  special  friends,  I  always  told  them 
I  had  no  time  for  dressmaking,  but  would  always  be 
pleased  to  lend  them  patterns.  So  ashamed  were 
some  of  the  women  of  their  short  skirts,  that  they 
would  often  take  their  long,  flowing  chuddars  from 
their  heads  and  wrap  them  round  their  waists,  giving 
the  appearance  of  a  draped  skirt. 

The  outdoor  costume  of  the  Persian  women  is 
much  more  becoming  than  the  indoor,  though  it  is 
decidedly  hot  in  the  warm  weather.  It  is  made  up 

96 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

of  three  pieces ;  the  big  voluminous  trousers  which 
slip  over  the  feet  and  cling  closely  to  the  shape  of 
the  foot,  but  above  the  ankle  fall  full  and  baggy ; 
over  these  are  worn  the  large  black  chuddar,  the  poor 
wearing  black  calico  and  the  rich  silk ;  and  then, 
covering  the  face,  is  the  veil.  This  veil  is  a  long  strip 
of  white  calico  with  open  work  for  the  part  covering 
the  eyes,  and  fastened  together  at  the  back  of  the 
head  by  brass,  silver,  or  gold  and  jewelled  clasps, 
according  to  the  rank  of  the  wearer.  Through  the 
open  work  part  of  the  veil  the  woman  is  able  to  find 
her  way  about,  and  see  all  that  there  is  to  be  seen, 
while  no  one  can  see  the  face  behind  the  veil. 

To  see  a  group  of  Persian  ladies  decked  out  in 
their  silks  and  satins  is  a  sight  not  easily  forgotten. 
There  is  nothing  these  women  love  more  than  some 
festivity  at  their  own  or  a  friend's  house,  which  gives 
them  an  opportunity  of  showing  off  their  finery,  and 
also  of  meeting  all  their  acquaintances,  and  having  a 
good  "  gufti  goo  "  (chat).  I  was  often  invited  when  in 
Kerman  upon  these  occasions,  but  found,  if  I  accepted 
all  invitations,  my  time  would  be  taken  up  with 
going  to  betrothal  feasts,  weddings,  &c.,  and  so  I 
used  to  look  in  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  excuse 
myself.  On  one  occasion  I  went  to  a  wedding  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  chief  mullahs  of  the  town.  I 
was  asked  to  go  at  sunrise,  but  did  not  put  in  an 
appearance  till  about  nine  o'clock.  When  I  arrived, 
all  the  guests  had  been  there  already  some  hours  ;  it 
was  certainly  a  very  pretty  sight.  Two  large  com- 
pounds were  given  up  to  the  entertainment  of  the 
bride's  party,  while  the  bridegroom  was  holding  his 
reception  in  another  house. 

97  G 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

As  I  entered  the  door  leading  into  the  anderoon, 
I  could  but  stand  and  admire  the  scene  before  me. 
Quite  two  hundred  ladies  were  present,  each  one 
dressed  in  gorgeous  silks  and  satins,  and  all  wearing 
the  graceful  chuddar  falling  from  the  head.  The 
majority  of  these  chuddars  were  of  silk — Indian, 
Japanese,  or  Persian  silks,  all  vying  with  each  other 
in  their  brilliancy  and  beauty.  Some  were  rainbow 
silks,  all  colours  merging  into  each  other ;  then  again, 
others  were  gaily  flowered,  and  others  "  shot "  or 
lustre  silks — the  whole  forming  a  wonderfully  har- 
monious and  striking  picture,  and  I  longed  for  a 
camera  that  might  give  a  true  representation,  both 
in  colour  and  vivacity,  of  this  butterfly  scene  before 
me.  To  add  to  the  gayness  of  their  attire,  each 
married  lady  was  wearing  a  spray  or  wreath  of  flowers 
in  her  hair,  and  many  carried  or  wore  bouquets  of 
roses.  The  whole  effect  was  charming,  and  formed  a 
marvellous  study  of  colour,  gracefulness,  and  Eastern 
beauty. 

We  have  kept  our  hostess  waiting  quite  a  long 
time  while  we  have  been  admiring  her  guests,  but 
now  we  must  hasten  to  pay  our  respects  to  her,  and 
take  our  seat  amongst  this  gay  throng.  I  was  alone 
that  day,  being  the  only  European  woman  in  the 
town;  but  it  will  be  much  more  pleasant  if  my 
readers  will  come  with  me  in  imagination  to  that 
wedding  feast. 

We  are  ushered  into  a  large  room  full  of  gay 
ladies,  who  immediately  all  rise  from  the  ground  as 
we  enter,  and  salaam  us.  It  is  rather  difficult  to  know 
which  is  our  hostess  amongst  so  many,  so  we  must 

be  impartial  in  our  salutations,  and  pray  God  that 

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MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

"  their  kindnesses  may  never  grow  less,"  or  "  their 
hands  never  pain  them,"  &c.  Then  we  all  take  our 
seats,  and  conversation  is  resumed.  The  ladies  will 
begin  with  a  series  of  questions,  such  as— 

"  How  old  are  you  ?  "  "  Have  you  a  mother  ? " 
"  Why  do  you  not  black  your  eyebrows  ? "  "  Are  you 
happy  ? "  "  Is  your  husband  kind  to  you  ? "  "  Do 
you  like  him  ? "  "  How  much  did  your  dress  cost  ? " 
and  so  on,  like  a  group  of  children — and  when  you 
think  they  have  finished,  they  will  begin  again. 
After  a  short  interval  tea  is  handed  round.  Tea, 
did  I  say  ?  well,  it  is  dignified  by  that  name,  but  in 
reality  Persian  tea  is  not  much  more  than  sweetened 
water  coloured  with  a  drop  of  tea.  To  begin  with, 
the  cups  are  very  tiny,  generally  made  of  glass. 
They  are  first  filled  up  with  three  or  four  lumps  of 
sugar,  then  a  teaspoonful  of  tea  is  poured  over  these, 
and  water  added  until  the  cup  is  full,  and  the  result 
is — Persian  tea !  However,  it  is  rather  pleasant  to 
drink,  and  helps  to  pass  the  time.  After  a  short 
interval  more  tea  is  handed  round,  and  then  glasses 
of  sherbet,  made  from  juices  of  different  fruits,  and 
then,  for  a  change,  coffee  is  served. 

About  noon,  just  as  I  am  afraid  we  are  all  feeling 
very  tired  and  sleepy,  a  welcome  change  comes ;  a 
stirring  and  commotion  begins  in  the  courtyard, 
women  rush  about  with  enormous  trays  on  their 
heads  and  carrying  all  kinds  of  dishes :  this  is  but 
a  prelude  to  dinner  being  announced.  Two  large 
rooms  are  laid  out  for  dinner;  in  each  room  about 
one  hundred  guests  sit  down.  I  was  taken  in  by 
the  mother  of  the  bridegroom,  so  we  will  all  pass 

in  under  her  protection.     (The  mother  of  the  bride 

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MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

is  not  in  evidence  on  these  occasions,  being  sup- 
posed to  be  overwhelmed  with  grief  at  losing  her 
daughter. )  The  "  table  "  is  the  ground,  so  we  must 
gracefully  (?)  sit  on  our  heels.  On  the  "table"  are 
over  two  hundred  different  dishes — pillaus,  chillaus, 
chicken,  kabobs,  vegetables,  fruits — all  laid  out  in 
tempting  array.  The  hostess  having  pronounced  the 
Moslem  benediction,  "  Bismi'llah "  (In  the  name  of 
God),  all  the  guests  fall  to  work  in  reaFearnest :  very 
little  talking  is  done,  eating  being  the  business  of  the 
moment.  Spoons  and  forks  were  provided  for  me, 
but  I  preferred  to  do  as  they  did,  and  so  ate  with  my 
fingers,  though  it  requires  a  good  deal  of  practice  to 
do  it  neatly  and  gracefully.  As  a  mark  of  respect 
and  honour,  the  hostess  from  time  to  time  breaks  off 
pieces  of  meat  from  her  portion  and  places  them  on 
my  plate,  and  once  as  a  special  mark  of  favour  placed 
a  dainty  morsel  of  chicken  in  my  mouth.  I  hope 
my  readers  have  enjoyed  their  dinner  as  much  as  I 
have,  for  to  my  mind  a  Persian  feast  is  a  most  delect- 
able entertainment. 

After  dinner  we  all  washed  our  hands  in  a  basin 
brought  round  for  the  purpose,  the  water  being 
poured  from  an  ewer  on  to  our  hands  by  a  servant. 
Then  we  all  retired  to  our  reception-room  of  the 
morning,  and  again  tea  and  sherbet  were  handed 
round,  and  the  kalian  or  water-pipe  was  much  in 
request,  each  lady  taking  a  whiff  and  passing  the 
long  tube  to  her  neighbour. 

But  where  is  the  poor  little  bride  all  this  time  ? 
We  have  neither  seen  nor  heard  her  all  day  long,  and 
yet  the  feast  is  supposed  to  be  in  her  honour.  All 
through  the  long,  hot  June  day  she  has  been  cooped 

100 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

up  in  a  tiny  room,  and  as  sunset  approaches  her 
friends  and  relations  go  to  dress  her  and  to  decorate 
her  from  head  to  foot  with  jewellery  and  finery.  Into 
her  hair  is  woven  a  quantity  of  golden  thread,  so  that 
in  the  distance  it  looks  like  a  mass  of  gold,  and  must 
be  very  heavy  on  the  poor  tired  little  head.  She 
is  brought  out  into  a  large  room,  and  seated  on  a 
chair  in  the  middle  of  it ;  then  every  one  goes  up  to 
her,  and  after  kissing  her,  says,  "  May  you  be  blessed." 
The  poor  little  mite  (she  might  be  thirteen  years  old, 
but  hardly  looks  it)  seems  absolutely  wretched  and 
miserable,  and  when  food  is  brought  to  her  refuses  to 
eat.  Just  at  sunset  she  is  taken  to  her  husband's 
house  in  a  closed  carriage,  and  our  hearts  must  ache 
as  we  think  of  what  is  in  store  for  her.  Even  if  her 
husband  is  kind  to  her  at  first,  yet  she  has  nothing 
much  to  look  forward  to  but  misery  and  degradation, 
and  if  by  chance  she  goes  to  an  anderoon  already  con- 
taining two  or  three  wives,  then  may  God  take  pity 
on  her,  for  her  fate  will  be  a  sad  one.  As  soon  as  a 
man  marries  a  girl  she  is  absolutely  his  property,  and 
he  may  do  exactly  as  he  pleases  with  her ;  there  is  no 
redress  for  the  poor  unfortunate  girl.  If  the  man  is 
a  brute  and  half  kills  his  wife  no  one  dare  say  a  word 
to  him,  or  if  perchance  there  is  one  brave  enough,  he 
will  only  be  told  that  "  the  girl  is  his  wife,  and  he 
can  do  as  he  likes  with  his  own,"  and  so  it  is  no 
wonder  if  the  shadow  of  the  future  lies  darkly  on  the 
faces  of  those  poor  little  children,  as  they  leave  their 
mother's  home  as  brides  to  go  out  into  the  unknown 
which  lies  before  them. 

I  remember  a  poor  little  girl  who  was  brought  to 
the  hospital  in  Julfa,  while  we  were  there.     She  had 

101 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

been  married  to  a  brutal  man,  when  about  eleven 
years  old.  Being  very  unhappy  with  him,  she  often 
used  to  run  away  and  take  refuge  with  her  mother, 
who  lived  in  a  village  a  mile  or  two  away  from  her 
husband's  house.  On  many  occasions  he  had  beaten 
her  severely  for  some  childish  fault,  and  each  time 
she  had  fled  to  her  mother,  and  stayed  with  her  till 
her  husband  came  and  carried  her  off  again  by  force. 
This  went  on  for  some  time,  till  the  poor  child's  life 
was  nothing  but  wretchedness  and  misery. 

One  day  she  displeased  her  husband  by  not  cook- 
ing the  dinner  to  his  liking,  and  he  was  so  enraged 
with  her  that  he  behaved  in  the  following  abominable 
manner. 

First  of  all  he  saw  that  the  windows  of  his  house 
were  barricaded  and  the  door  locked :  then  he  stripped 
the  trembling,  frightened  child,  and  deliberately 
poured  paraffin  oil  all  over  her  body,  and  finally  set 
a  light  to  her  and  left  her  to  her  fate,  taking  care  to 
lock  the  door  after  him,  as  he  went  out.  The  neigh- 
bours, hearing  the  girl's  screams,  rushed  to  the  house, 
but  the  doors  being  locked  and  the  windows  fastened 
much  precious  time  was  wasted.  When  they  finally 
smashed  open  the  window  it  was  only  to  find  the 
child  a  mass  of  flames.  They  picked  her  up  and 
rushed  wildly  with  her  into  the  street,  and  dropped 
her  into  the  nearest  stream  to  quench  the  flames  !  It 
was  a  marvellous  thing  to  think  that  after  all  this 
there  was  any  life  left  in  the  poor  child.  The  neigh- 
bours took  her  to  her  mother,  who  plastered  all  her 
wounds  with  red  earth  and  left  her  lying  in  the  corner 
of  the  room  for  some  ten  days.  Then,  taking  the 

advice  of  some  friends,  they  procured  a  cradle  and 

102 


MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

lifted  the  poor  wee  child  into  it,  and  hoisted  the 
cradle  and  its  occupant  on  the  back  of  a  donkey,  and 
took  her  some  five  days'  journey  to  Julfa.  They  had 
heard  of  the  Mission  Hospital  through  some  of  their 
villagers,  who  had  been  treated  there,  and  so  they 
brought  this  little  victim  of  Persian  cruelty  to  the 
lady  doctor,  who  took  her  in,  dressed  her  wounds, 
and  laid  her  in  a  clean,  comfortable  bed.  All  that 
human  love  and  kindness  could  do  was  done  to 
alleviate  her  sufferings,  but  nothing  could  save  her 
life,  and  after  three  days  she  passed  away — a  martyr 
indeed  to  the  creed  of  Islam,  which  enables  and  allows 
men  to  treat  their  women  as  something  lower  than 
the  beasts  of  the  field. 

Ought  not  the  cries  of  distress  and  agony  from 
the  poor  women  of  Persia  so  to  rouse  us,  their  sisters 
in  England,  that  we  shall  determine  to  do  all  that 
lies  in  our  power  to  lighten  their  burdens  and  to 
bring  some  rays  of  light  into  the  dark  lives  of  our 
Eastern  sisters  ? 

One  thing  which  adds  greatly  to  the  misery  of 
these  women  is  the  ease  with  which  their  husbands 
can  divorce  them.  A  wife  never  knows  from  day  to 
day  whether  or  no  her  lord  may  not  divorce  her. 
Often  for  most  trivial  matters  a  man  will  cast  away 
his  wife.  This  being  the  case,  the  woman  will  lie  and 
deceive  her  husband  in  order  to  escape  divorcement. 
If  the  wives  of  Persia  could  only  be  raised  to  the 
level  of  true  womanhood  I  believe  they  would  be- 
come good  wives  and  mothers,  but  while  they  are 
what  they  are,  how  can  there  be  any  hope  for  them  ? 
There  is  nothing  but  utter  darkness  till  the  true 

Light  shines  into  their  lives,  and  then  and  then  only 

103 


will  the  day  break  for  these  downtrodden,  degraded 
beings. 

The  Persian  ladies  are  great  beauty  specialists, 
and  bestow  a  good  deal  of  attention  upon  their  com- 
plexion and  general  make-up.  They  do  not  believe 
in  beauty  unadorned,  for  even  when  quite  young  they 
use  the  rouge-pot  very  freely,  and  often  use  it  to 
great  advantage  too  !  I  have  often  known  a  girl  who 
was  quite  ordinary -looking,  sallow  and  dark  in  com- 
plexion, but  when  dressed  for  her  wedding  I  hardly 
recognised  her,  so  changed  was  she  by  all  the 
numerous  "  aids  "  to  beauty.  Her  cheeks  were  now  a 
lovely  rose  tint,  and  her  eyebrows  darkened  and 
lengthened  till  they  almost  met  in  the  middle,  and 
the  edges  of  her  eyelids  were  also  blackened  with 
"  kola,"  and  really  the  effect  was  very  good. 

They  also  spend  much  time  and  trouble  in  dyeing 
their  hair  with  henna,  not  only  from  a  fear  of  grey 
hair,  but  also  because  the  dull  red  tint  produced  by 
henna  is  the  fashionable  colour. 

The  Persian  lady  has  very  little  in  her  life  to 
elevate  or  refine  her  mind,  and  so  we  cannot  wonder 
if  at  times  we  see  in  her  many  revolting  characteristics. 
When  we  think  of  all  she  has  to  endure,  and  how 
little  happiness  comes  to  her  lot,  our  wonder  is  that 
she  retains  even  a  semblance  of  womanhood.  Should 
we  be  any  better  under  like  circumstances  ? 

If  a  woman  is  treated  continually  as  if  she  was 
nothing  but  a  beast  of  burden,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at 
that  in  some  cases  her  nature  becomes  almost  as  the 
beasts  of  the  field  ?  Weird  stories  are  told  of  the 
extremities  to  which  women  have  been  driven,  and 
the  cruelties  which  they  have  perpetrated. 

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MORE    ABOUT    PERSIAN    WOMEN 

The  following  is  one  which  I  heard  when  in 
Persia.  It  was  in  the  days  when  famine  was  rampant 
throughout  the  land.  There  was  a  certain  man  of 
high  position  who  collected  and  stored  all  the  corn 
he  could  gather,  and  then  refused  to  sell  at  anything 
but  famine  prices ;  finally  he  was  arrested  and  sent 
to  Teheran,  where  he  was  tried  and  condemned  to 
death.  The  Shah  could  not  determine  on  the  manner 
of  death  to  he  ordered  for  this  rascal,  but  at  last 
decided  to  hand  the  unfortunate  man  over  to  the 
mercies  of  the  royal  anderoon  to  be  put  to  death  by 
them.  The  ladies  and  women  servants  consulted 
together,  and  decided  to  keep  the  wretch  in  their 
quarters  and  kill  him  by  inches,  day  by  day.  The 
method  they  chose  was  to  cut  him  to  pieces  with 
scissors  till  he  died  ! 

I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  story,  and  I 
trust  it  is  not  true,  but  I  give  it  to  you  as  I  heard  it. 
But  one  thing  I  know  to  be  true,  and  that  is,  when  a 
Persian  woman  is  once  roused  to  anger,  jealousy,  and 
passion,  there  is  hardly  anything  too  dreadful  for  her 
to  contemplate  doing,  in  her  longing  for  revenge. 


105 


CHAPTER   IX 

SOME   POINTS   IN  THE   xMOSLEM   FAITH 

Fasts  and  Feasts — Seyyids,  dervishes,  mullahs — Legends  of  the  drowning 
mullah,  and  the  yard  square  hole. 

"  Religion's  all  or  nothing." 

B.  BROWNING. 

r  INHERE  are  five  things  which  every  true 
JL  Mohammedan  must  either  believe  or  do.  The 
first  is  the  declaration  of  their  faith  or  "  Kalimat." 
"  I  declare  that  there  is  no  God  but  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  His  Apostle ; "  "  La  Allaha  il  Allah 
wa  Mohammed  rasool  Allah,"  this  is  the  all-im- 
portant witness,  and  must  be  continually  recited 
by  all  true  believers.  Secondly,  Moslems  are  bound 
to  repeat  prayers  five  times  a  day — at  daybreak, 
noon,  shortly  before  sunset,  during  twilight,  and  an 
hour  after  dark.  I  do  not  say  all  Moslems  do 
repeat  prayers  at  each  of  these  times,  but  that  is 
their  rule,  and  those  who  consider  themselves  good 
Moslems  adhere  most  righteously  to  these  set  times 
for  prayers.  Needless  to  say,  it  is  but  a  form  of 
words  and  position,  any  slight  error  in  posture 
taking  away  all  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the 
prayer.  Often  in  Persia  women  have  said  their 
prayers  in  our  drawing-room,  if  the  call  to  prayer 
sounded  while  they  were  visiting  me. 

Living  in  the  East,  one  gets  very  fond  of  the 

106 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

call  to  prayer,  heard  from  some  neighbouring 
minaret.  The  first  sound  that  catches  the  ear  at 
daybreak  is  "Allah,  Allaho  Akhbar"  (God  is  most 
great),  repeated  four  times.  "  La  Allaha  il  Allah 
wa  Mohammed  rasool  Allah " — this  is  said  twice, 
and  then  other  calls  and  invocations,  always  finish- 
ing up  with  the  final  declaration  of  "  Allah,  Allaho 
Akhbar." 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  way  this 
call  to  prayer  is  chanted,  some  men  having  most 
melodious  voices,  others  harsh  and  grating ;  but 
wherever  a  true  Moslem  may  be  when  he  hears 
this  call,  he  lays  aside  his  work  at  once  and  begins 
to  repeat  his  prayers,  bowing,  prostrating,  touching 
the  ground  with  his  forehead,  &c.,  till  the  duty  is 
finished,  when  he  returns  to  his  work,  perhaps  to 
his  cheating  and  his  lying,  for  this  repetition  of 
prayers  has  no  effect  on  his  life  or  manner  of 
living. 

Thirdly,  all  good  Moslems  are  supposed  to  give 
voluntarily  to  the  mullahs  a  tithe  of  all  they 
possess,  also  alms  to  the  poor.  In  the  Koran  we 
read,  "  Prayer  carries  us  half  way  to  God,  fasting 
brings  us  to  the  door  of  His  palace,  but  giving 
of  alms  procures  admission."  In  many  cases  the 
mullahs  are  provided  for  entirely  by  the  freewill 
offerings  of  the  people,  all  gifts  being  sent  anony- 
mously. 

Fourthly,  every  true  believer  is  expected  to 
undertake,  if  at  all  possible,  a  pilgrimage,  preferably 
to  Mecca,  but  if  that  is  out  of  the  question  then 
to  Kerbela  or  Meshed.  The  former,  of  course, 
brings  the  greatest  merit,  and  men  and  women 

107 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

will  do  all  they  can  to  perform  this  pilgrimage. 
On  their  return  they  are  treated  with  great  respect, 
and  looked  up  to  as  little  gods.  They  generally 
think  so  much  of  themselves  after  having  per- 
formed this  wonderful  act  of  self-denial  that  they 
become  quite  unbearable  to  their  friends.  There 
is  an  Arabic  proverb  which  shows  the  effect  this 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  supposed  to  have  on  the 
pilgrim.  It  is  as  follows :  "  If  your  friend  has  been 
to  Mecca,  trust  him  not.  If  he  has  been  there 
twice,  avoid  him.  But  if  he  has  made  the  pilgrim- 
age three  times,  then  flee  from  him  as  you  would 
from  Satan  himself." 

Women  often  undertake  these  pilgrimages,  spend- 
ing weeks  or  months  it  may  be  over  the  journey, 
but  resting  for  ever  afterwards  in  the  great  glory 
and  honour  resulting  from  it. 

The  fifth  point  to  be  observed  by  Moslems  is 
that  of  fasting  during  the  month  of  Ramadan. 
This  lasts  for  thirty  days,  and  is  a  real  hardship 
for  the  poorer  people  when  the  fast  falls  during 
the  summer,  as  from  sunrise  to  sunset  not  a  morsel 
of  food  or  drop  of  water  may  pass  their  lips — or, 
as  the  Koran  expresses  it,  from  "the  time  you  can 
distinguish  between  a  white  thread  and  a  black, 
then  keep  the  fast  until  night."  For  the  rich  and 
idle  it  is  no  great  effort,  for  they  simply  feast 
and  revel  all  night  and  sleep  by  day,  but  for  the 
servants  and  labouring  class  it  comes  harder,  as 
they  must  work  by  day  and  cannot  sleep  properly 
at  night.  Children  are  always  very  anxious  to 
begin  fasting,  and  often  little  mites  of  five  or  six 
will  tell  you  with  great  pride  that  they  are  keep- 

108 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

ing  the  fast.  They  generally  start  by  fasting  for 
half  days,  and  how  proud  they  are,  and  how  they 
gloat  over  other  children  who  have  not  yet  begun 
this  work  of  devotion !  Perhaps  what  the  people 
who  fast  miss  more  than  anything  else  during 
Kamadan  is  their  smoking :  they  are  such  slaves  to 
this  habit,  both  men  and  women,  that  it  is  almost 
life  to  some  of  them,  and  they  find  it  very  hard 
to  go  without.  When  the  cannon  booms  forth  the 
hour  of  sunset,  giving  the  Prophet's  permission  to 
his  faithful  ones  to  break  their  fast,  generally  the 
first  thought,  after  moistening  their  lips  with  water, 
is  that  now  they  may  enjoy  their  smoke,  either  of 
a  cigarette  or  kalian. 

Mohurram  is  the  month  of  mourning,  when  all 
the  country  mourns  for  Hassain  and  Hussein,  the 
martyred  sons  of  Ali,  who  are  looked  upon  by  the 
Shiahs  as  the  rightful  successors  of  the  Prophet. 
During  this  season  the  majority  of  the  people  go 
into  deep  mourning,  and  the  bazaars  are  sometimes 
draped  in  black.  It  is  in  this  month  that  the  great 
Passion  Play  of  Persia  is  enacted,  and  while  in  Ker- 
man  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  witnessing  this  "tazieh,"  as  the  Passion  Play  is 
called.  It  certainly  was  a  sight  worth  seeing  at  least 
once  in  a  lifetime. 

The  tenth  day  of  this  month  of  Mohurram  is  the 
one  set  aside  for  this  festival,  and  is  kept  as  a  general 
holiday,  so  that  all  might  go  to  see  the  great  spectacle 
enacted  on  that  day  in  memory  of  the  death  of  Hassain 
and  Hussein,  the  two  grandsons  of  Mohammed. 

The  Governor  of  Kerman  had  kindly  invited  us 
to  view  the  performance  from  his  house,  and  accord- 

109 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

ingly  that  morning  at  about  eight  o'clock  he  sent  his 
carriage  for  us,  and  we  were  driven  through  the 
packed  bazaars  till  we  arrived  at  his  house,  or  "Arg," 
as  the  governor's  residence  is  called  in  Kerman. 
We  were  at  once  admitted  by  a  private  entrance, 
and  ushered  into  a  large  verandah,  which  had  been 
set  apart  for  the  use  of  Feringhis.  As  my  husband 
and  I  were  the  only  Europeans  in  the  city  at  that 
time,  we  had  it  to  ourselves.  Here,  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Play,  we  were  regaled  with  tea, 
coffee,  jam,  bread,  cheese,  and  cakes.  Looking  out, 
the  sight  was  a  wonderful  one.  In  front  of  us  was  a 
large  garden  in  which  I  suppose  some  10,000  people 
were  gathered.  At  one  end  of  the  garden  was  a  large 
"  hoze "  or  tank  of  water,  over  which  was  spread  a 
huge  awning,  and  near  by  a  large  pulpit  from  which 
the  mullahs  preached  to  the  people,  and  tried  to  rouse 
their  feelings  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement.  One  man 
was  specially  successful  in  doing  this,  causing  the 
women  to  wail  wildly  and  beat  their  breasts  frantic- 
ally, and  the  men  to  smite  their  heads.  After  a  delay 
of  about  an  hour,  the  performance  began  with  a 
long  procession,  which  entered  the  garden  at  the  far 
end  and  wound  in  and  out  till  it  had  traversed  the 
whole  garden.  This  procession  represented  the  family 
travelling  as  captives  after  the  death  of  Hassain  and 
his  brother. 

First  of  all  came  six  gaily  decorated  camels,  with 
men  riding  upon  them,  beating  drums  and  making  a 
tremendous  noise.  Then  came  more  camels  carrying 
the  tent  furniture  and  other  goods,  followed  by  horses 
and  mules  laden  with  heavy  loads.  After  these  came 
four  stretchers  borne  by  men,  on  which  lay  four  dead 

110 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

bodies  (figures  stuffed)  representing  Hassain  and  his 
three  brothers,  who  perished  from  want  of  water, 
which  had  been  cut  off  from  them  by  their  enemies. 
On  each  dead  body  sat  a  dove,  supposed  to  be  mourn- 
ing. Then  came  a  horrible  sight,  one  which  I  never 
wish  to  see  again.  About  a  hundred  madly  excited 
men  dressed  in  long  white  robes,  armed  with  swords, 
were  slashing  their  heads  until  the  blood  was  streaming 
down  their  faces  on  to  the  robes,  white,  alas,  no  longer! 
As  they  reached  the  tank  of  water  they  formed  into 
a  line  all  round  it,  and  kept  up  for  some  length  of 
time  a  horrible  kind  of  war  dance.  It  was  a  ghastly 
sight.  The  dancers  looked  more  like  demons  than 
men.  One  poor  man  fainted  from  loss  of  blood,  and 
had  to  be  carried  away,  and  a  little  boy  of  about  eight 
years  of  age  also  collapsed.  It  was  bad  enough  to 
see  grown  men  cutting  themselves,  but  to  see  the 
little  children  being  wounded  in  this  way  was  terrible. 
This  is,  of  course,  looked  upon  as  a  work  of  great  merit. 
The  more  numerous  and  deeper  the  gashes,  the  greater 
the  merit  they  accrue  to  themselves.  The  wild  dance 
was  continued  till  a  sign  was  given  to  the  dancers  by 
the  governor,  that  he  had  seen  enough  to  satisfy  him. 
Then  they  all  lined  up  in  front  of  the  verandah  where 
the  governor  was  sitting,  and  demanded  that  five 
notorious  prisoners  should  be  released  from  the  prison 
close  by.  He  at  once  acceded  to  their  request,  as  it 
was  the  custom  at  this  festival  for  the  governor  to 
release  from  the  prison  any  prisoners  who  are  inter- 
ceded for  by  these  wild,  fanatical  dancers. 

After  this  ghastly  sight  came  a  motley  crowd  of 
men  and  children  on  horses,  all  beating  their  breasts 
or  heads.  Some  of  the  riders  were  so  tiny  that 

111 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

they  had  to   be  held  on   to   their   steeds  by  men- 
servants. 

Then  came  another  body  on  a  bier,  with  a  man 
dressed  in  a  lion's  skin,  embracing  and  fondling  the 
dead  body.  It  looked  so  weird  to  see  the  pseudo-lion 
kissing  and  hugging  the  remains  of  its  late  friend  and 
master,  and  expressing  in  various  ways  great  sorrow 
and  anguish  over  its  loss. 

After  this  came  several  batches  of  boys  stripped 
to  the  waist,  all  beating  their  breasts.  It  was  really 
a  very  pretty  sight,  for  the  boys  kept  such  perfect 
time,  one  boy  acting  as  leader,  like  a  group  of  chil- 
dren performing  gymnastic  exercises.  As  their  hands 
simultaneously  clapped  their  breasts,  there  was  a 
sharp  report,  at  which  they  all  shouted  "  Hassain ! 
Hussein  !  Hassain  !  Hussein  ! "  The  whole  proceed- 
ing was  an  interesting  but  sad  spectacle,  which  I 
shall  never  forget.  The  clash  of  swords,  the  beating 
of  drums,  the  weird  wailing  of  the  women,  accom- 
panied by  their  spasmodic  shrieks,  the  shouting  and 
yelling  of  the  fanatical  mob,  all  contributed  to  the 
making  up  of  one  of  the  most  notable  scenes  of 
Eastern  life.  And  yet  it  made  one's  heart  ache  to 
watch  this  crowd  of  human  beings  for  whom  Christ 
died,  and  who  as  yet  know  nothing  of  Him,  but  are 
only  anxious  to  obtain  merit  for  themselves  by  taking 
part  in  these  gruesome  religious  performances. 

All  over  Persia  "  religious  men  "  are  much  looked 
up  to  and  respected.  Of  these  the  dervish  is  one 
very  much  to  the  fore.  He  is  a  religious  mendicant, 
having  taken  a  vow  either  for  a  certain  time  or 
permanently.  The  vow  is  not  a  very  strict  one, 
only  consisting  of  poverty  and  obedience  to  a 


chief,  to  whom  a  portion  of  the  alms  received  must 
be  paid. 

These  dervishes  wander  from  place  to  place,  chant- 
ing, singing,  and  begging.  The  natives  do  not  like 
to  refuse  them  anything,  from  fear  more  than  love, 
perhaps,  as  it  is  considered  meritorious  to  give  alms 
to  these  religious  people. 

They  generally  dress  in  dirty  white,  wear  their 
hair  long,  and  carry  an  axe  or  club,  more  often  than 
not  beautifully  chased  and  inlaid,  also  the  well-known 
dervish  bowl,  which  is  made  from  a  huge  nut,  carved 
and  decorated.  Often  these  dervishes  will  come  and 
seat  themselves  in  the  courtyard  and  begin  their 
monotonous  chant,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  get 
them  to  move,  as  the  servants  will  never  use  force, 
and  their  reiterated  requests  to  "move  on"  meet  with 
no  success  whatever  till  the  dervish  is  satisfied  that 
he  has  extracted  all  the  "  backsheesh "  likely  to  be 
forthcoming. 

The  Seyyids  are  another  class  of  people  much 
respected  in  the  country.  They  claim  to  be  the 
direct  descendants  of  the  prophet  Mohammed,  and 
are  allowed  many  privileges  on  account  of  this. 
They  wear  a  green  turban  or  waistband,  to  be 
known  of  all  men.  Looked  upon  as  a  religious 
body,  the  natives  are  afraid  to  offend  them  in 
any  way. 

Then  there  are  the  "  mullahs,"  or  priests  of  the 
Islamic  faith.  They  exercise  a  great  deal  of  power 
over  the  people,  but  are  not,  as  a  rule,  loved  by  them 
over  much. 

The  Persians  are  Shiah  Mohammedans,  whilst 
the  Arabs  and  Turks  are  Sunnis.  As  the  former 

113  H 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

know  very  little  Arabic,  the  reading  of  the  Koran 
is  to  them  an  unknown  tongue,  and  they  regard 
their  "  mullahs "  as  "  sacred  men,"  able  to  interpret 
the  "  Holy  Book."  Thus  the  Shiah  priest  gains 
great  influence,  not  to  say  considerable  wealth,  in 
Persia,  and  the  Shah  himself  fears  the  influence  of 
the  priesthood.  The  Sunnis,  on  the  other  hand, 
know  Arabic,  as  a  general  rule,  and  many  of  them 
are  able  to  consult  the  Koran  for  themselves,  the 
result  being  that  the  "mullah"  gains  but  little 
influence  compared  to  the  "  Shiah "  priest,  and  is 
often  quite  poor.  Briefly,  the  Shiah  priesthood  is 
comparable  with  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
of  Christendom,  while  "  Sunni "  mullahs  do  not  claim, 
or  would  claim  in  vain,  any  such  authority,  thus  more 
nearly  resembling  the  "status"  of  Church  of  England 
clergy.  The  result  is  obvious :  Persia  is  a  priest- 
ridden  country ;  in  "  Sunni "  lands  the  people  are 
freer,  and  dare  think  for  themselves.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  a  Persian  mullah  will  exact  the 
uttermost  farthing  from  his  followers,  but  will  never 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  them  in  their  need.  For 
instance,  if  a  man  dies  without  an  heir,  his  property 
according  to  law  goes  to  the  poor,  but  unfortunately 
it  has  to  be  done  through  a  medium,  and  that  medium 
is  the  mullah.  He  promptly  pockets  the  property 
and  gives  its  supposed  value  (valued,  mark  you,  by 
himself)  to  the  poor.  We  can  imagine  what  a  large 
percentage  the  poor  receive  of  that  property. 

Here  is  a  story  which  was  told  us  in  Kerman, 
illustrating  how  loath  the  mullahs  are  to  give  any- 
thing away.  The  scene  is  a  large  pool  of  water,  in 
it  a  mullah  struggling  to  reach  the  bank,  and  in 

114 


SOME    POINTS    IN    MOSLEM    FAITH 

danger  of  drowning.  A  passer-by,  seeing  his  distress, 
runs  to  his  aid  and  cries,  "  Give  me  your  hand,  oh 
my  lord,  and  I  will  pull  you  out."  "  No,  indeed," 
answers  the  mullah,  "  I  have  never  yet  given  any- 
thing to  any  one,  and  I  certainly  will  not  begin  now." 
The  kindly  passer-by,  not  liking  to  leave  the  mullah 
in  his  sad  condition,  tries  to  think  of  another  way  out 
of  the  difficulty.  Suddenly  a  bright  idea  strikes  him, 
and  running  to  the  priest,  he  calls  out,  "  Will  you 
take  my  hand,  then,  oh  my  lord  ? "  "  Gladly,"  says 
the  mullah,  and  allows  himself  to  be  drawn  out  of 
his  perilous  position. 

Another  rather  good  story  is  told,  showing  the 
meanness  of  the  priests.  A  man  had  agreed  to  pay  a 
workman  eight  krans  (2s.  8d.)  for  digging  a  hole  one 
yard  square.  At  the  end  of  the  day  the  workman 
had  only  dug  a  hole  half  a  yard  square,  so  the  master 
went  to  a  mullah  to  ask  him  how  much  he  ought  to 
pay  the  workman.  "  Why,  of  course,"  says  the 
mullah,  "  half  the  sum  agreed  upon,  that  is,  four 
krans."  After  deliberating  awhile  he  said,  "  No,  two 
krans  is  enough,"  and  this  decision  he  gave  as  final, 
although  he  impressed  upon  the  man  that  one  kran 
was  all  he  could  legally  claim,  as  he  had  scientifically 
only  done  one-eighth  of  his  work  ! 

In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  see  a  little  of  another 
religious  sect,  which  is  fast  becoming  a  power  in 
Persia. 


115 


CHAPTER  X 

OTHER   RELIGIOUS  SECTS 

Other  religious  sects — The  B;lb  and  Babism — Short  sketch  of  life  of  the  Bdb 
— His  imprisonment  and  execution — Parsees,  or  Zoroastrians — Per- 
secutions of  Parsees  in  seventh  century — Sacred  writings  of  Parsees, 
Zendavesta — Fire-worshipping — Fire  temples — Holy  fire — Parsee  wedding 
— Costume  of  women — Death  customs— Burial  customs. 

"  How  many  crimes  have  in  religion's  name  been  wrought." 

LUCRETIUS. 

"  Too  oft  religion  has  the  mother  been 
Of  impious  act  and  criminal." 

LUCRETIUS. 

THE  founder  of  Babism  was  a  native  of  Shiraz, 
by  name  Mirza  Ali  Muhammed,  born  in  1820; 
it  was  not  till  1844  that  he  publicly  proclaimed 
himself  to  be  The  Bab  or  Gate,  through  which  all 
who  wished  for  peace  and  happiness  might  pass 
into  the  inner  chambers  of  mysticism  and  sacred 
mysteries.  He  soon  gathered  a  large  following 
around  him,  and  in  an  astonishingly  short  time  the 
fame  of  the  Bab  was  noised  abroad  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Persia.  At  first  the  Govern- 
ment and  mullahs  paid  little  attention  to  this  new 
religion,  thinking  and  believing  it  to  be  only  a 
passing  fancy  of  the  people,  but  in  its  second 
year  it  took  such  rapid  strides  that  they  began 
to  be  alarmed,  and  to  look  about  for  means  of 
checking  its  progress.  The  Bab  was  placed  in 
prison,  and  his  followers  were  forbidden,  on  pain 

116 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

of  death,  to  teach  or  discuss  their  new  religion. 
Soon  afterwards,  however,  the  Bab  escaped,  and 
fled  to  Isphahan,  where  the  governor  of  that  city 
protected  him  for  some  months,  but  on  the  death 
of  the  governor  the  Bab  was  again  cast  into  prison. 
During  his  imprisonment  he  was  not  idle,  for 
he  wrote  many  books,  setting  forth  his  doctrines, 
and  exhorting  his  followers  to  remain  firm  to 
their  new  faith  in  the  face  of  all  opposition  and 
persecution. 

While  the  Bab  was  busy  in  prison,  his  followers 
were  also  busy,  preaching  and  teaching,  and  by 
all  means  trying  to  extend  the  doctrines  of  their 
leader,  and  so  great  was  the  opposition  and  strife 
raised  that  the  Government  decided  that  the  Bab 
must  forfeit  his  life  as  a  means  of  putting  a  stop 
once  and  for  all  to  this  new  and  dangerous  sect. 
Accordingly  the  Bab  was  brought  from  Tabriz,  where 
he  had  been  imprisoned,  and  after  a  mock  trial  was 
sentenced  to  death.  On  the  day  appointed  for  his 
execution  an  enormous  crowd  gathered  to  witness 
his  end — many  from  curiosity,  and  also  many  from 
love  and  pity  for  the  youthful  martyr,  who  to  the 
last  maintained  the  calmness  and  courage  which  had 
characterised  his  whole  term  of  imprisonment. 

To  make  the  lesson  more  emphatic,  it  was  decided 
that  two  of  the  Bab's  chief  disciples  were  to  be 
executed  with  him.  One  of  these  at  the  last 
moment  recanted,  and  so  was  allowed  to  go  free. 
It  was  said  that  his  recantation  arose  not  from 
cowardice  or  fear  of  death,  but  from  a  special 
revelation  given  to  him,  whereby  he  was  com- 
manded to  recant  in  order  to  be  able  to  carry 

117 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

away  all  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the  Bab, 
and  deposit  them  in  a  safe  place :  however  that 
may  be,  it  is  known  that  after  an  interval  of  two 
years  he  too  became  a  martyr.  Efforts  were  made 
to  entice  the  other  disciple  to  recant,  but  all 
proved  unavailing,  and  he  and  his  master  the  Bab 
were  suspended,  by  ropes  placed  under  their  arms, 
to  a  beam  placed  a  few  feet  from  the  ground.  As 
they  hung  thus  the  disciple  was  heard  to  say, 
"  Master,  art  thou  satisfied  with  me  ? "  and  then 
the  order  was  given  to  fire.  When  the  smoke  cleared 
away  the  body  of  the  disciple  was  found  to  be 
riddled  with  bullets,  but  no  Bab  was  visible.  What 
had  happened  ?  Had  a  miracle  been  performed,  and 
an  angel  been  sent  to  rescue  him  from  the  hand  of 
his  persecutors?  This  was  the  thought  of  some, 
and,  indeed,  a  miracle  had  been  performed,  for  in 
spite  of  the  many  bullets  which  had  been  aimed 
at  him  not  one  had  touched  the  Bab,  but  had  only 
brought  him  deliverance  by  severing  the  ropes 
which  bound  him.  so  that  he  fell  to  the  ground 
unhurt.  At  first  it  seemed  as  if  the  multitude  would 
have  pity  on  the  unfortunate  man,  and  spare  him 
a  second  attempt,  but  these  feelings  were  only  of 
short  duration,  and  the  Bab  was  again  dragged 
forth  from  his  hiding-place,  where  he  had  taken 
refuge,  and  was  a  second  time  suspended.  A  fresh 
batch  of  soldiers  had  to  be  told  off  for  the  execution, 
as  the  first  company  absolutely  refused  to  fire  again. 
This  time  there  was  no  intervention,  and  in  a  second 
or  two  the  body  of  the  young  martyr  of  Shiraz  was 
pierced  with  bullets.  The  bodies  were  cast  out  to 
the  jackals,  but  were  afterwards  recovered  and  buried 

118 


in  Teheran  by  the  order  of  the  new  Bab,  Mirza 
Yahya. 

This  event  took  place  in  1850,  and  in  spite  of 
persecutions,  oppositions,  and  cruelties,  the  Babis 
continued  to  grow  in  number  and  strength,  and 
to-day  they  form  a  very  large  and  important  com- 
munity throughout  Persia.  In  fact,  by  the  very 
barbarity  of  the  persecutors  their  own  end  was 
defeated,  for  all  the  people  were  astonished  at  the 
heroism  and  fortitude  displayed  by  the  martyrs. 
Professor  Brown l  says,  "  Often  have  I  heard  Per- 
sians who  did  not  themselves  belong  to  the  pro- 
scribed sect  tell  with  admiration  how  Suleyman 
Khan,  his  body  pierced  with  well-nigh  a  score  of 
wounds,  in  each  of  which  was  inserted  a  lighted 
candle,  went  to  his  execution  singing  with  exulta- 
tion." The  effect  of  such  courage  and  heroism  was 
only  to  stir  up  more  people  to  be  disciples  of  the 
Bab,  as  the  following  story  shows. 

During  the  persecutions  in  Yezd,  a  young  man 
went  to  scoff  and  jeer,  but  when  he  saw  with  what 
courage  the  martyrs  endured  torture,  and  met  death, 
he  called  out,  "  I  am  a  Babi,  kill  me  too."  While 
we  were  in  Yezd  the  Babis  were  keeping  very  quiet, 
but,  nevertheless,  a  great  work  was  going  on  amongst 
them,  but  none  dared  say,  "  I  am  a  Babi."  A  year 
or  two  after  our  departure  from  Persia  we  heard  of 
terrible  cruelties  and  persecutions  enacted  against 
these  suffering  people,  but  in  spite  of  all,  their 
number  continues  to  grow  and  increase  throughout 
the  whole  land  of  Persia,  and  to-day  the  Babis  are 
stronger  and  more  numerous  than  ever  before. 

1  "  A  Year  amongst  the  Persians." 

119 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

The  Parsees  of  Persia  are  another  most  interest- 
ing and  important  sect:  they  live  chiefly  in  Yezd 
and  Kerman.  They  are  a  people  within  a  people, 
living  in  Persia,  and  with  the  Persians,  yet  keeping 
quite  distinct  from  the  present  inhabitants  of  the 
land.  Only  a  few  thousand  of  this  large  and 
influential  body  of  people,  who  up  till  the  seventh 
century  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  now  remain 
in  Persia.  AVhen  the  armies  of  Mohammed  con- 
quered Persia,  most  of  these  people  fled  to  India ; 
others  preferred  to  adhere  to  the  new  religion,  while 
a  few  remained  faithful  to  their  'old  belief,  and 
refused  either  to  flee  to  a  new  and  strange  country, 
or  to  change  their  creed,  and  so  they  remain  till 
this  day  a  distinct  people,  following  their  own 
customs,  and  holding  to  their  own  religion  amidst 
a  new  and  domineering  nation. 

The  founder  of  the  Parsee  religion  was  one  called 
Zoroaster.  Very  little  is  known  of  his  life  ;  his  birth- 
place is  uncertain,  though  it  is  known  he  lived  for 
many  years  in  Bactria  of  Eastern  Persia,  and  it  is 
probable  that  it  was  in  this  place  that  he  thought 
out  the  idea,  from  which  in  later  years  he  con- 
structed his  religious  system.  The  priests  of  this 
religion  were  the  "  magi "  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  and  (it  is  very  likely  that  at  least  one 
of  the  "wise  men  of  the  East"  who  went  to  offer 
their  adoration  to  the  new-born  King  was  from 
these  Parsees  of  Persia. 

The  date  of  Zoroaster  is  very  uncertain  too.  It 
is  known,  however,  that  in  the  sixth  century  B.C., 
when  Cyrus  was  king,  the  Zoroastrian  religion 
was  firmly  established  in  Western  Persia.  Some 

120 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

historians    give    him    a    date    between    1000    and 
1400  B.C. 

The  sacred  writings  of  the  Parsees  are  called  the 
Zendavesta,  and  are  said  to  be  inspired  by  God 
through  one  of  their  priests.  This  priest,  having 
cleansed  and  bathed  himself  in  the  most  careful 
manner,  lay  down  to  sleep  clothed  in  pure  white 
linen.  He  is  said  to  have  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep, 
from  which  he  did  not  awake  for  seven  days;  at 
the  end  of  which  time  he  awoke  and  recited  the 
faith  of  the  Zoroastrians,  while  priests  in  wait- 
ing committed  the  whole  to  writing.  In  this  way 
was  the  Zendavesta  reduced  to  the  form  of  a 
book. 

While  fire-worshipping  forms  a  large  part  of 
their  religion,  it  is  quite  a  mistake  to  suppose  it 
comprises  the  whole,  for  Zoroaster  laid  down  many 
laws  concerning  morality  and  the  duties  and  destiny 
of  man. 

The  Parsees  of  to-day,  as  seen  in  Kerman  and 
Yezd,  are  a  fine  race ;  their  commercial  ability  is 
very  much  above  that  of  the  ordinary  Persian,  and 
they  are  a  much  cleaner  and  more  moral  set  of 
people  than  their  conquerors.  They  regard  fire  as 
something  sacred,  as  being  the  symbol  of  their  god, 
and  nothing  will  induce  them  to  treat  fire  lightly. 
For  instance,  we  could  never  persuade  our  Parsee 
servants  to  blow  out  a  candle ;  and  smoking  is 
prohibited  on  account  of  their  religious  principles, 
though  nowadays  many  do  smoke  in  secret.  Their 
habits  of  cleanliness  and  continual  personal  ablutions 
have  perhaps  contributed  to  make  them  the  healthy 

race  they  are  to-day.      A   good  Parsee   will   wash 

121 


many  times  a  day,  always  before  and  after  praying, 
as  well  as  on  many  other  occasions. 

All  Parsees  wear  a  girdle  round  their  waists, 
twisted  into  three  knots  in  a  most  complicated  and 
intricate  way.  Whenever  they  wash  they  must  take 
this  off,  and  after  their  ablutions  are  over  they 
replace  the  girdle,  repeating  certain  prayers  for  each 
knot.  These  {  three  knots  represent  the  threefold 
cord,  which  is  not  easily  broken,  of  good  thoughts, 
good  words,  good  deeds. 

There  are  said  to  be  some  thirty  or  forty  fire 
temples  still  existing  in  Yezd,  and  in  these  the  holy 
fire  is  always  burning ;  the  light  is  never  allowed 
to  go  out,  it  being  the  work  of  the  priests  to  keep 
it  continually  bright  and  trimmed. 

The  office  of  priesthood  descends  from  father  to 
son,  and  besides  attending  to  the  religious  needs  of 
the  people,  the  priest  is  also  supposed  to  look  after 
their  temporal  necessities,  especially  in  the  case  of 
poverty-stricken  families. 

Parsee  women  have  a  much  freer  life  than  their 
Persian  sisters ;  they  go  about  the  streets  quite 
openly,  never  veiling  their  faces,  and  altogether 
enjoy  a  much  better  position  than  the  Mohammedan 
women.  In  some  cases  the  women  are  even  allowed 
to  eat  with  the  men  of  the  house — a  great  conces- 
sion indeed !  The  children  are  bright,  and  in  many 
cases  clever.  When  seven  days  old  an  astrologer 
is  consulted  as  to  the  future  of  the  infant ;  and  when 
seven  years  old  a  boy  is  blessed  by  the  priest,  who 
invests  him  with  the  sacred  girdle,  at  the  same  time 
throwing  upon  the  child's  head  portions  of  fruit, 
spices,  and  drops  of  perfume. 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

Girls  are  married  when  quite  young,  and  the 
astrologer  is  again  consulted  on  this  important  matter. 
When  in  Yezd  we  were  invited  to  a  Parsee  wedding, 
and  a  very  interesting  sight  it  was.  The  invitation 
— which  was  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and  arrived 
some  days  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  ceremony — 
was  acknowledged  and  accepted  by  us  with  much 
pleasure,  as  we  were  anxious  to  see  something  of  the 
customs  of  these  interesting  people. 

When  the  day  arrived  we  arrayed  ourselves  in 
gala  attire,  and  set  out  to  the  house  of  the  bride. 
It  was  just  midnight  when  we  arrived,  and  already 
the  guests,  some  hundreds  of  them,  had  been  feast- 
ing for  hours — in  fact,  I  might  say  "  days,"  for  this 
was  the  seventh  and  last  day  of  the  wedding  fes- 
tivities, and  many  of  the  guests  had  been  present 
each  day.  They  all  looked  thoroughly  worn-out  and 
tired.  A  room  had  been  set  apart  for  the  Europeans 
to  dine  in,  and  just  after  midnight  a  most  sumptuous 
dinner  was  served,  consisting  of  about  a  dozen  courses. 
When  this  had  been  satisfactorily  disposed  of  we  dis- 
persed to  visit  the  different  rooms  occupied  by  the 
guests,  my  husband  remaining  with  the  men,  while  I 
and  another  English  lady  sought  out  the  bride  to 
give  her  our  salaams  and  good  wishes.  The  confusion 
was  terrible — drums  beating,  cymbals  clashing,  women 
dancing  and  singing,  children  yelling  and  crying, 
and  amid  it  all,  seated  upon  the  ground,  sat  the 
poor  little  bride-elect.  No  one  seemed  to  be  taking 
much  notice  of  her,  every  one  apparently  aiming  to 
amuse  herself  in  the  most  noisy  way  possible. 

By -and -by  a  large,  silk -covered  cushion  was 
brought  out  from  a  back  room,  and  on  this  the 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

bride  was  placed,  and  covered  entirely  with  a  large 
silk  shawl.  I  wondered  what  was  going  to  happen 
next,  when  suddenly  a  group  of  men  appeared  at 
the  door.  These  were  the  representatives  of  the 
bridegroom,  who  came  to  ask  formally  for  the  hand 
of  the  bride.  They  came  and  stood  in  front  of  the 
covered-up  bride,  and  called  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Oh, 
my  daughter,  will  you  consent  to  be  the  bride  of 
this  man  ? "  (naming  the  bridegroom).  This  was 
repeated  six  times  amidst  a  silence  which  could  be 
felt,  all  listening  for  the  answer  of  the  bride.  On 
their  repeating  the  question  the  seventh  time,  a 
very  timid  "  Balli "  (Yes)  was  heard  coming  from 
the  region  of  the  shawl,  upon  which  the  commotion 
started  again  with  redoubled  vigour,  in  the  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  acceptance  on  the  part  of  the 
bride  of  her  bridegroom.  Of  course  this  was  a  mere 
form,  as  everything  had  been  arranged  long  before- 
hand. I  shocked  one  good  old  lady  by  asking  what 
would  happen  if  the  bride  had  said  "  No  "  instead  of 
"  Yes  "  to  the  oft-repeated  question  ! 

After  receiving  this  very  satisfactory  answer  to 
their  inquiries  the  men  went  off,  and  the  women 
began  to  prepare  the  bride  for  the  last  and  most 
important  part  of  the  programme — viz.  that  of  taking 
her  to  the  home  of  the  bridegroom.  They  covered 
her  with  a  large  silk  chuddar,  and  over  her  head 
threw  a  thick  shawl,  so  that  the  poor  girl  could  see 
nothing,  and  had  to  be  led  and  supported  on  each 
side  by  her  proud  relatives.  The  distance  between 
the  two  houses  might  perhaps  have  taken  five  minutes 
to  walk  in  an  ordinary  way,  but  that  night  we  took 
quite  an  hour.  The  procession  was  headed  by  two 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

"  vakeels  "  (agents),  who  were  bargaining  the  whole 
way  as  to  the  dowry  of  the  bride.  Every  now  and 
then  they  would  come  to  a  standstill,  and  the 
bride's  vakeel  would  refuse  to  go  a  step  further  till 
more  money  had  been  paid,  and  after  a  great  deal 
of  shouting,  gesticulating,  and  wrangling,  the  bride- 
groom's vakeel  would  end  by  throwing  some  coins 
into  the  other's  hand,  and  then  the  procession  would 
proceed  for  a  few  steps  till  blocked  once  more,  while 
the  whole  process  of  bargaining  was  gone  through 
again.  Fireworks  were  going  off  the  whole  time, 
and  were  apparently  laid  along  the  route,  for  every 
now  and  then  we  were  startled  by  having  a  rocket 
fly  up  from  beneath  our  feet.  About  every  twenty 
yards  or  so  we  came  across  huge  bonfires  of  dried 
faggots  right  in  our  path,  and  the  whole  procession 
had  to  wait  till  these  had  died  down  before  they 
could  pass  on.  Arriving  at  the  door  of  the  bride- 
groom's house,  a  final  and  most  exciting  scene  took 
place  between  the  two  vakeels,  the  one  threatening 
even  then  to  take  the  bride  away,  and  the  other, 
getting  more  wildly  angry  every  minute,  declaring 
he  did  not  want  the  bride,  and  would  not  pay  a 
"para"  (Jd.)  more  for  her,  and  ending  up  by  giving 
the  sum  bargained  for.  If  we  had  not  known  it 
was  all  part  of  the  ceremony,  we  might  have  ex- 
pected the  two  men  to  come  to  blows  ;  but  it  all 
ended  happily,  and  we  trooped  into  the  new  home 
of  the  bride.  Then  came  a  long  time  of  weary  wait- 
ing, during  which  my  sympathies  went  out  to  the 
tired,  frightened  bride ;  but  just  as  we  thought  there 
was  nothing  more  to  wait  for,  three  interesting 

scenes  took  place.     The  first  was  the  actual  marriage 

125 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

ceremony,  in  which  a  priest  read  many  long  prayers 
from  a  book,  and  then  tied  the  couple  together 
with  a  silk  thread  and  pronounced  a  blessing  upon 
them. 

The  second  scene  took  place  in  the  open  court- 
yard, in  the  centre  of  which  was  burning  the  sacred 
fire  placed  on  a  pedestal.  The  priest  and  parents 
of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  now  joined  hands  with 
the  happy  couple  and  walked  in  solemn  single  file 
round  and  round  the  fire,  the  priest  chanting  the 
whole  time  ;  this  was  done  seven  times,  and  then  all 
retired  quietly,  leaving  the  fire  burning  in  the  court. 

To  the  third  and  final  scene  only  a  favoured  few 
were  admitted  ;  fortunately  I  was  amongst  that  num- 
ber. Into  the  room  prepared  for  the  newly-married 
couple  the  little  wife  was  now  led,  and  for  the  first 
time  the  coverings  were  taken  from  her  head  and 
face.  She  was  placed  on  a  huge  silk-covered  mat- 
tress, then  the  husband  came  and  took  his  seat  by 
her  side :  both  of  them  were  looking  thoroughly 
miserable !  One  of  the  women  then  brought  a 
copper  basin  and  ewer  filled  with  milk,  and  the 
bridegroom  proceeded  to  wash  his  wife's  feet  in 
milk,  and  she  in  her  turn  washed  his  hands.  This 
done,  we  all  bade  farewell  to  the  newly-married 
couple  and  the  wedding  ceremony  was  at  an  end. 
Hastily  saying  good-bye  to  our  host  and  hostess, 
and  expressing  our  good  wishes  for  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  young  people,  we  made  our  way 
homewards,  to  find  it  was  not  very  far  off  dawn, 
but  having  thoroughly  enjoyed  our  first  experience 
of  a  Parsee  wedding  ceremony. 

The  costume  of  the  Parsee  women  is  rather 

126 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

quaint  and  pretty  ;  it  consists  of  very  baggy  trousers 
gathered  in  at  the  ankle.  These  trousers  are  often 
made  of  very  pretty  pieces  of  embroidery  joined 
together.  As  soon  almost  as  a  girl  can  sew  she 
begins  to  embroider  strips  of  brightly-coloured 
materials  in  order  to  have  them  ready  for  her 
wedding  trousseau.  Over  these  garments  they 
wear  a  loose  shirt  reaching  to  just  below  the  knees ; 
this  is  also  made  of  strips  of  different  coloured 
materials,  or  in  the  case  of  a  bride  is  also  em- 
broidered. Then  comes  the  head-dress :  it  is  far 
beyond  my  powers  to  say  of  how  many  pieces  this 
is  composed,  or  as  to  how  they  are  arranged.  The 
number  of  coverings  on  their  heads  is  legion !  First 
comes  a  little  tight  cap  fitting  closely  over  the  head 
and  ears.  Over  this  is  arranged  in  a  most  marvel- 
lous way  some  six  or  seven  different  pieces  of  calico 
or  linen,  the  top  one  of  all  generally  being  a  very 
bright  calico,  a  mixture  of  red  and  yellow  being  the 
favourite  pattern.  The  men  are  obliged  to  wear 
dowdy  colours  as  a  mark  of  submission  to  the  powers 
that  be.  For  the  same  reason  also  they  are  not 
allowed  to  ride  through  the  bazaars,  and  if  a  Parsee 
is  riding  outside  the  city  and  meets  a  Moslem  he 
promptly  has  to  dismount  and  walk  till  he  has  passed 
his  more  fortunate  neighbour ;  then  he  may  resume 
his  riding.  This  is,  I  believe,  the  case  even  if  the 
Moslem  be  a  poor  man  and  the  Parsee  a  flourishing 
merchant. 

To  pass  from  life  to  death.  A  Parsee  when  he 
is  dying  sends  for  the  priest,  who  anoints  him  with 
sacred  juice,  repeats  some  verses  from  the  "  Avesta," 
and  prays  for  a  safe  crossing  of  the  "  bridge "  and 

127 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

admission  into  Paradise.  As  soon  as  the  breath  has 
left  the  body,  a  dog  is  brought  in  from  the  street  to 
ascertain  if  life  is  really  extinct.  This  idea  origin- 
ated evidently  from  the  old  Zoroastrian  idea  that 
the  evil  spirit  is  expelled  from  a  dead  body  by 
means  of  a  "four-eyed  dog"  being  brought  in  and 
made  to  look  at  the  dead,  the  extra  "two"  eyes 
being  represented  by  two  black  spots  over  the  brow 
of  the  dog.  The  body  is  then  placed  on  a  bier  and 
carried  to  the  Towers  of  Silence,  or  "  dakhmehs," 
by  men  specially  set  apart  for  that  purpose.  These 
men  are  looked  upon  as  unclean  from  their  contact 
with  the  dead,  therefore  only  those  whose  work  it 
is  to  do  so  will  touch  the  body,  the  cleansing  neces- 
sary after  defilement  from  contact  with  the  dead 
being  so  exacting  and  laborious. 

On  arriving  at  the  dakhmeh,  prayers  are  recited 
by  the  priests  and  the  body  laid  on  an  iron  grating, 
so  that  when  the  vultures  and  other  birds  of  prey 
have  done  their  horrible  work,  the  bones  fall  down 
and  are  safe  from  molestation  by  dogs  and  jackals. 

The  dakhmehs,  always  some  distance  from  the 
town,  are  built  in  a  circular  shape,  some  of  the 
largest  being  200  or  so  feet  in  diameter.  They  are 
generally  built  on  rising  ground,  and  form  a  land- 
mark for  many  miles  around. 

Prayers  for  the  dead  are  said  for  three  or  four 
days  after  the  death,  and  holy  fire  is  kept  burning 
in  the  house  of  the  deceased  during  the  whole  of 
that  time,  as  the  soul  is  not  supposed  to  leave  the 
body  till  the  fourth  day  after  death. 

The  better-class  Parsees  "  mourn  "  for  a  year  after 

the  death  of  a  near  relative ;  that  is,  they  keep  up 

128 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SECTS 

certain  ceremonials  for  that  length  of  time,  and  offer 
flowers  and  fruits  on  behalf  of  their  dead. 

The  Parsees  have  a  governing  body  called  the 
Anjiman.  This  consists  of  a  number  of  leading 
men,  representatives  of  each  class  of  society.  The 
Persian  Government  acknowledges  the  Anjiman, 
and  accepts  one  of  its  number  to  act  as  its  repre- 
sentative. 


129 


CHAPTER    XI 

DESERT    DELIGHTS 

Songs  of  the  desert — Sunsets,  sunrises,  mirages — Illness  in  the  desert — 
Mehman  khanehs,  caravanserais— Chappa  khanehs — Lost  in  the  desert 
— Its  cruelties,  and  sadness. 

"  The  desert  wide 

Lies  round  thee  like  a  trackless  tide 
In  waves  of  sand  forlornly  multiplied." 

F.  W.  FABEE. 

TO  a  lover  of  the  desert  a  journey  across  its 
boundless  tracts  is  always  full  of  interest  and 
delight.  It  is  strange  what  an  attraction  the  desert 
has  for  some  people,  and  stranger  still  is  the  fact 
that  this  magnetic  power  increases  as  time  passes, 
and  instead  of  wearying  of  the  wilderness,  they  love 
it  more  and  more.  And  any  one  who  has  once 
heard  the  call  of  the  desert  is  always  longing  to 
answer  that  call,  and  to  fly  once  more,  as  a  needle 
to  its  magnet,  to  that  great,  wondrous  world. 
For  it  is  a  world  of  its  own,  this  great,  boundless 
ocean  of  sand — a  world  altogether  different  from  any 
other  part  of  God's  earth. 

I  once  heard  an  address  on  "The  Desert,"  and 
the  speaker  said  that  he  did  not  think  it  possible  for 
any  one  with  an  uneasy  conscience  to  bear  the  solitari- 
ness of  the  desert.  Be  this  as  it  may,  one  thing  is 
sure :  no  one  can  live  and  travel  in  the  desert 
without  feeling  the  majestic  Presence  of  God. 

130 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

Everything  speaks  of  Him,  the  great  sea  of  sand, 
the  flowers  springing  into  blossom  at  His  word, 
the  tiny  lizard  darting  across  your  path,  and  other 
countless  creatures,  all  finding  life  and  sustenance 
in  the  desert,  each  telling  of  the  wonderful  Creator 
who  watches  over  and  cares  for  all. 

The  songs  of  the  desert,  too,  are  fascinating ; 
songs  which,  heard  elsewhere,  would  seem  incongruous 
and  lacking  in  harmony.  The  camel  or  mule  bells, 
booming  out  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  remind  one 
of  home  and  loved  ones.  Often  have  I  been  awak- 
ened in  the  night  by  the  sound  of  the  caravan  bells, 
and  for  a  moment  thought  they  were  the  bells  of 
the  dear  old  church  in  Devonshire.  Then,  again,  the 
crooning  songs  of  the  muleteer,  as  he  trudges  along 
hour  after  hour,  have  a  peculiar  charm,  which  grows 
on  one  wondrously  after  a  while.  And  what  can  be 
said  of  the  marvellous  mirages — visions  which  come 
as  messengers  of  hope  and  leave  us  victims  of  despair  ? 
For  who  has  not  experienced  relief  and  joy  at  the  sight 
of  some  beautiful  mirage,  resembling  the  welcome 
sight  of  a  village  with  trees  and  water,  all  apparently 
within  easy  reach  of  the  weary  traveller,  but  which 
in  a  moment  of  time  vanish,  leaving  blank  dis- 
appointment behind.  And  where  can  be  seen  such 
glorious  sunset  effects  as  in  the  desert  ?  especially 
when,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  Persia,  the  desert 
is  surrounded  by  mountains  and  hills,  which  catch 
the  after  glow,  and  reflect  all  those  indescribable 
shades  of  crimson,  gold,  and  blue,  all  merging  into 
a  beatific  and  not  easily  forgotten  vision. 

But  to  come  to  the  more  practical  side  of  desert 
life.     Travelling  in  the  desert  is  not  all  a  path  of 

131 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

roses,  but,  given  good  health,  fine  weather,  and 
pleasant  company,  it  is  a  very  enjoyable  way  of 
passing  two  or  three  weeks.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
know  of  nothing  more  wretched  than  being  over- 
taken by  illness  when  far  away  in  the  desert.  Then 
you  feel  how  utterly  alone  and  helpless  you  are, 
for  it  is  impossible  to  travel  on,  and  at  the  same 
time  well-nigh  impossible  to  stay  where  you  are ! 
We  have  had  this  experience  more  than  once 
during  our  many  travels,  and  found  it  not  at  all 
pleasant.  Once  I  was  taken  ill  in  this  way,  and 
the  only  place  to  be  found  as  shelter  was  a  filthy 
stable,  full  of  rats,  cockroaches,  and  other  horrible 
creatures. 

If  you  wish  thoroughly  to  enjoy  a  journey  across 
the  desert,  you  must  choose  your  time  well  and 
wisely.  The  best  time  is  the  early  spring,  before 
the  great  heat  begins.  If  it  is  essential  to  travel 
during  the  summer,  all  the  stages  have  to  be  done 
by  night,  and  this  is  much  more  tiring,  as  it  is 
seldom  possible  to  sleep  during  the  day  owing  to 
the  pest  of  flies,  mosquitoes,  and  other  lively 
companions. 

The  rest-houses  of  Persia  are  of  three  grades  or 
kinds,  viz.  "  mehman  khanehs,"  "  chappa  khanehs," 
and  caravanserais.  The  first  of  these  three  are  found 
between  Resht  and  Teheran.  They  are  supposed 
to  be  run  after  the  plan  of  a  European  hotel !  Beds 
are  supplied,  and  sometimes  a  tooth-brush  and  comb  ! 
The  traveller  is  shown  into  a  room  in  which  the  beds 
are  kept  ready  for  alt  passers-by :  it  is  not  thought 
necessary  to  change  the  bedding  too  often !  The 

furniture  consists  of  a  washstand,  table,  and  couple 

132 


A  MOUNTAIN  PASS 

The  traveller  from  Resht  to  Teheran  passes  through  very  varied  scenery.  Beginning  with 
beautiful  forests  of  walnuts,  planes,  willow,  and  olives,  he  soon  loses  this  wealth  of  vegetation  as  he 
ascends  the  Elburz,  and  once  these  mountains  are  crossed,  the  track  lies  chiefly  through  the  desert, 
with  its  ranges  of  mountains  away  in  the  distance. 


A  CARAVANSKRAI 

A  specimen  of  one  of  the  "hotels"  of  Persia.  These  caravanserais  are  built  in  the  form  of  an 
open  square.  The  rooms  are  situated  round  ihe  quadrangle,  while  the  courtyard  is  the  resting-place 
of  camels,  mules,  horses,  and  donkeys. 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

of  chairs,  and  everything  is  as  dirty  as  can  be.  I 
much  prefer  the  ordinary  caravanserai,  which  is 
found  all  over  Persia.  These  are  generally  built 
by  a  wealthy  man  who  wishes  to  do  some  "good 
deed,"  to  make  a  name  for  himself,  and  gain  merit 
in  Paradise.  A  caravanserai  is  not  the  cleanest  spot 
on  earth  !  But  after  travelling  a  little  you  get  used 
to  a  certain  amount  of  dirt,  and  are  very  much 
surprised  if  by  chance  you  come  across  a  fairly  clean 
rest-house.  These  caravanserais  are  built,  as  a  rule, 
in  the  form  of  a  square,  the  sides  of  which  are 
occupied  by  rooms  leading  off  the  courtyard,  the 
centre  being  the  resting-place  of  mules,  donkeys, 
horses,  and  all  other  kinds  of  animals.  At  the  end 
of  the  stage  you  fix  on  the  cleanest  of  these  rooms, 
and  your  servant  sweeps  all  the  accumulated  dirt 
and  dust  of  ages  into  one  corner,  thus  raising  a 
cloud  of  dust  and  disturbing  the  peace  of  myriads 
of  "  pilgrims  of  the  desert."  After  waiting  a  few 
minutes  to  allow  the  dust  to  settle  a  little,  you  then 
furnish  your  room  for  the  night  by  spreading  a  rug 
on  the  filthy  floor,  and  setting  up  your  travelling 
beds,  chair,  tables,  &c.  As  likely  as  not,  there  will 
be  no  door  to  the  room,  so  you  knock  in  a  couple 
of  nails  and  fasten  a  curtain  over  the  doorway  to 
keep  out  the  prying  eyes  of  your  too  near  and 
inquisitive  neighbours.  Then  you  begin  to  think 
about  your  evening  meal,  and  your  servant  goes  off 
to  bargain  and  wrangle  over  some  unfortunate  fowl, 
the  result  being  that  in  about  an  hour's  time  your 
dinner  is  ready,  and  shortly  after  you  very  thankfully 
retire  to  rest,  hoping  for  the  best. 

The  chappa  khanehs,  or  post-houses,  are  often 

133 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

a  trifle  cleaner  than  the  caravanserai.  Here  the 
animals  are  kept  for  the  post,  and  any  one  travelling 
"  chappa "  is  supposed  to  find  fresh  relays  of  horses 
at  each  of  these  places,  but  very  often  the  number 
is  short,  and  the  poor,  wretched,  underfed  animal 
has  to  do  duty  for  a  second  stage :  a  "  stage "  is 
anything  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles.  My  husband 
once  rode  "chappa"  from  Yezd  to  Kerman,  a  dis- 
tance of  250  miles,  in  2£  days,  to  attend  an  English 
doctor  who  was  very  ill  with  typhoid  fever.  It  was 
very  hard  and  rough  riding ;  the  roads  were  bad,  the 
horses  worse,  some  of  the  animals  being  blind,  others 
lame,  while  the  majority  of  them  were  so  over- 
worked and  badly  fed  that  it  seemed  impossible  that 
they  could  ever  do  the  stage.  A  doctor  once  riding 
in  this  way  to  visit  a  European,  is  said  to  have 
arrived  at  one  of  these  post-houses,  and  finding  no 
horse,  demanded  a  mule.  On  this  beast  he  made  the 
next  stage,  to  be  told  on  arrival  that  there  was  only 
a  donkey  available.  Nothing  better  presenting  itself, 
he  accepted  this  mount,  and  in  time  reached  the 
next  stage,  where  he  was  met  with  the  comforting 
announcement  that  the  only  animal  at  liberty  was  a 
cow !  History  seems  uncertain  after  this  point,  so 
we  will  draw  a  veil  over  it  1 

Sometimes  these  caravanserais  and  chappa  khanehs 
are  the  only  signs  of  life  to  be  seen  at  the  end  of  a 
stage.  There  they  stand,  alone,  surrounded  on  all 
hands  by  vast  stretches  of  desert,  and  form  a  land- 
mark for  miles  around.  One  such  I  remember  very 
well,  as  each  time  we  passed  that  way  it  seemed  to 
have  become  more  lonely  and  desolate.  Visible 
from  a  distance  of  5  farsakhs  (18  miles),  it  made 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

the  stage  seem  very  long !  The  atmosphere  is 
so  rarefied  that  distant  objects  appear  near,  and  the 
buildings,  which  were  in  reality  15  miles  away, 
looked  quite  close  at  hand.  In  this  chappa  khaneh 
we  were  once  guilty  of  inscribing  our  names  on  its 
already  well-filled  walls.  Some  years  after  a  lady 
was  visiting  us  in  Mosul,  and  told  us  she  had  read 
our  names  in  that  far-distant  chappa  khaneh. 

It  is  not  a  very  pleasant  sensation  to  be  lost  in 
a  desert.  Only  once  did  this  experience  befall  us, 
and  then  we  were  glad  when  it  was  over. 

We  were  on  our  way  from  Yezd  to  Kerman,  and 
had  reached  the  second  stage  out.  We  had  arranged 
with  our  muleteer  to  start  at  a  certain  hour  that 
morning,  but  when  we  came  down  from  the  "  bala 
khaneh  "  (upstairs  room)  where  we  had  been  sleeping, 
we  found  no  signs  of  our  caravan  being  ready  to  start. 
After  loitering  about  for  some  time,  we  decided  not  to 
wait  any  longer,  but  to  ride  on  ahead.  This  was  quite 
contrary  to  our  usual  custom,  as  we  always  found  it 
wiser  to  see  the  caravan  off  first,  otherwise  the  mule- 
teers dawdled  half  the  morning  away.  However,  we 
thought  this  once  we  would  alter  our  plans,  as  the 
dawn  was  even  then  breaking,  and  we  knew  that  in 
a  very  short  time  the  sun  would  be  scorchingly  hot. 
So  off*  we  went,  telling  our  servant  to  follow  as  soon 
as  possible.  We  received  minute  instructions  as  to 
which  direction  we  were  to  take,  and  thought  we 
could  not  possibly  mistake  our  road. 

Outside  the  town,  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  we 
came  to  two  roads,  one  leading  straight  ahead,  the 
other  branching  to  the  left.  We  decided  to  take  the 
former,  thinking  it  looked  more  trodden,  thereby 

135 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

showing  more  signs  of  traffic.  So  we  went  gaily  on. 
My  husband  occasionally  remarked,  "  I  hope  we  are 
on  the  right  road,"  and  I  always  lightly  answered, 
"  Oh  yes,  I  am  sure  we  are,"  as  I  pointed  out  to  him 
the  fact  that  we  were  following  the  same  path  along 
which  another  caravan  had  evidently  passed  a  few 
hours  before.  Howbeit  we  were  not  on  the  right 
road,  as  we  very  soon  found  to  our  cost.  By  this 
time  the  sun  was  blazing  down  upon  us,  and  we 
began  to  wonder  why  our  servants  and  caravan  had 
not  caught  us  up.  Time  went  on,  and  not  a  sign  of 
life  was  to  be  seen.  Standing  in  our  stirrups,  we 
scanned  the  horizon,  but  nothing  could  we  see  but 
the  scorching  sand.  We  then  began  seriously  to 
think  that  we  had  taken  the  wrong  turning  and 
were  lost.  Lost  in  the  desert,  without  a  drop  of 
water  or  a  scrap  of  food  !  Pleasant  thoughts  these 
were  as  companions  !  We  could  not  go  back  :  to  go 
forward  was  worse  than  useless.  After  considering 
a  little  as  to  the  best  thing  to  be  done,  we  decided 
to  gallop  on  till  we  came  to  a  small  hill  to  be  seen  in 
the  distance.  This  we  accordingly  did,  and  as  we 
neared  the  summit  saw  to  our  great  thankfulness  a 
tiny  speck  on  the  horizon  in  the  direction  from 
which  we  had  come.  This  "  speck  "  soon  developed 
into  a  moving  object,  and  by-and  by  we  could  see 
the  figure  of  a  man  and  horse  galloping  hard. 
As  the  horse  and  rider  came  nearer,  our  thankful- 
ness was  indeed  great  to  see  that  the  rider  was 
our  own  servant,  George.  If  ever  we  had  cause 
for  thankfulness  it  was  then,  and  we  certainly  said, 
and  felt  from  our  very  hearts,  "  Alhamd'  llillah " 
(Praise  be  to  God  !),  and  vowed  we  would  never  stray 

136 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

away  again  from  our  caravan  unless  we  were  quite 
sure  of  our  road. 

Our  man  was  so  delighted  to  see  us  safe  and 
sound  that  he  wept  for  joy.  After  a  long  delay  the 
caravan  had  at  last  started  from  the  chappa  khaneh 
just  as  the  sun  was  rising,  and  set  out  upon  its  way. 
They  were  all  surprised  to  think  we  had  gone  so  far, 
but  concluded  at  first  that  we  had  galloped  on  in 
order  to  reach  the  lunching-place  before  the  great 
heat.  On  arriving  at  the  spot,  however,  great  was 
their  dismay  to  find  we  had  not  yet  arrived.  Our 
servant  immediately  rode  back  to  the  village  to  make 
inquiries.  On  his  way  he  met  a  man  who  told  him  he 
had  seen  us  riding  off  in  the  opposite  direction. 
George  immediately  took  the  path  indicated,  with 
the  result  already  told.  By  the  time  we  regained 
our  caravan  we  were  well-nigh  worn  out  with  heat 
and  thirst,  having  been  under  the  blazing  sun  with- 
out food  or  water  for  most  of  the  hottest  hours  of  the 
day,  but  very  thankful  to  be  on  the  right  track  once 
more. 

One  thing  that  saddens  a  European  traveller 
during  a  journey  in  Persia  is  to  see  the  cruel  way  in 
which  the  muleteer  often  treats  his  animals.  The 
sufferings  of  these  poor  beasts  are  terrible.  I  often 
longed  to  be  able  to  thrash  the  muleteer  for  his 
cruelty  to  a  poor,  long-suffering  little  donkey. 
Bowed  down,  maybe,  under  a  load  twice  his  own 
size,  the  poor  ass  does  his  best  to  keep  up  with  the 
other  animals,  but  only  receives  kicks  and  hard 
knocks  for  his  pains.  The  wretched  creature  is 
urged  on  and  on  by  having  a  steel  or  iron  instru- 
ment run  into  some  horribly  sore  place  by  his  kind 

137 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

and  compassionate  owner.  Often  have  I  seen  a 
mule  or  donkey  stumble  and  fall  beneath  its  enor- 
mous load,  unable  to  raise  itself,  till  its  master  with 
blows  and  curses  comes  to  lend  a  hand.  Again  and 
again  will  this  happen,  till  at  last  the  poor  beast  can 
go  no  further,  and  is  left  to  its  fate.  Death  is  the 
kindest  master  some  of  these  suffering  creatures 
possess. 

I  remember  once  seeing  a  mule  unloaded,  and  the 
sight  under  the  pack-saddle  was  enough  to  make 
one's  heart  ache.  A  deep  wound  about  twelve  inches 
long  was  exposed  to  view,  just  under  the  arch  of  the 
saddle,  where  all  the  heaviest  pressure  and  friction 
came.  The  owner  then  heated  till  red  hot  a  long 
wire  rod,  passing  it  through  and  through  this  wound 
till  the  poor  creature  was  nearly  mad  with  pain  and 
agony.  The  next  day  a  boy  was  ordered  to  ride  this 
wretched  beast,  but  the  stench  from  the  wound  was 
so  great,  and  the  flies  attracted  by  it  so  numerous, 
that  he  could  not  endure  it,  and  asked  to  be  given 
another  animal.  This  request  was  granted,  but  the 
poor  brute  of  a  mule  had  to  pay  the  penalty  by 
receiving  an  extra  load  upon  his  poor  wounded  back. 
At  the  first  town  we  came  to,  the  muleteer  sold  this 
mule,  doubtless  to  some  one  who  would  work  the 
last  particle  of  strength  out  of  him.  Poor  burdened 
beasts  of  the  desert !  one  can  only  hope  for  them  a 
speedy  end  to  their  troubles,  and  rest  hereafter. 

Another  sad  sight  to  be  seen  in  the  desert  some- 
times, are  brick  pillars  in  which  some  unfortunate 
victim  has  been  walled  up  alive.  This  is  a  horrible 
method  of  inflicting  capital  punishment.  The  victim 

is  put  into  the  pillar,  which  is  half  built  up  in  readi- 

138 


DESERT    DELIGHTS 

ness ;  then  if  the  executioner  is  merciful  he  will 
cement  quickly  up  to  the  face,  and  death  comes 
speedily.  But  sometimes  a  small  amount  of  air  is 
allowed  to  permeate  through  the  bricks,  and  in  this 
case  the  torture  is  cruel  and  the  agony  prolonged. 
Men  bricked  up  in  this  way  have  been  heard  groaning 
and  calling  for  water  at  the  end  of  three  days.  At 
other  times  the  victim  is  placed  in  the  pillar  head 
first,  and  in  this  way  he  is  walled  up. 

The  first  time  I  saw  these  pillars  was  in  the 
desert  outside  Yezd,  and  I  could  hardly  believe  the 
awful  tales  which  were  told  me  of  the  cruelties 
perpetrated  ;  but  alas,  they  were  all  too  true  !  It  is 
sad  that  the  beauty  of  the  desert  should  be  desecrated 
by  such  things. 


139 


CHAPTER  XII 

PERSIAN   MEDICAL  MISSIONS1 

The  need  of  them — Work  in  Isphahan — The  "  little  devil"  transformed  into 
a  boy — Amputation— Brothers  in  adversity — H.B.H.  Zil-es-Sultan  as  a 
patient — Fanaticism  overcome. 

"  What  restless  forms  to-day  are  lying,  bound 
On  sick  beds,  waiting  till  the  hour  come  round 
That  brings  thy  foot  upon  the  chamber  stair, 
Impatient,  fevered,  faint,  till  thou  art  there, 
The  one  short  smile  of  sunshine  to  make  light 
The  long  remembrance  of  another  night." 

H.  E.  HAMILTON  KING. 

"  ly/TEDICAL  Missions "  need  no  apology  or 
JjJL  excuse.  Even  in  the  comparatively  few 
years  that  have  elapsed  since  their  commencement, 
they  have  abundantly  justified  their  existence,  both 
from  the  missionary  standpoint,  and  also  as  philan- 
thropic agencies.  If  this  be  true  for  purely  pagan 
lands,  it  applies  even  more  accurately  to  work  in 
Mohammedan  countries.  Medical  missionary  work 
is,  without  doubt,  the  golden  key  that  unlocks  the 
door  of  the  heart  of  the  most  fanatical  Moslem,  be 
he  Persian,  Arab,  Kurd,  or  Yezedee  (devil  wor- 
shipper). I  write  this  deliberately,  after  eight  years' 
experience  in  Persia,  Palestine,  and  Mesopotamia. 
But  in  this  book  it  is  not  meant  specially  to  em- 
phasise the  missionary  aspect  of  our  life  in  these 
distant  lands,  but  more  to  give  a  slight  glimpse  of 

1  By  Dr.  A.  Hume-Griffith. 
340 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

native  life  as  we  found  it,  and  the  following,  therefore, 
must  be  taken  as  notes  from  a  doctor's  diary,  covering 
a  period  of  eight  years'  work  in  Persia  and  Meso- 
potamia. 

The  year  1900  found  us  at  Isphahan.  We  were 
living  in  Julfa,  the  Armenian  suburb  of  that  great 
city,  and  I  had  temporary  charge  of  the  C.M.S. 
Medical  Mission.  The  hospital  at  that  period  was 
simply  a  native  house  that  had  been  adapted,  more 
or  less,  for  the  requirements  of  a  dispensary  and 
hospital.  There  was  no  lack  of  work,  patients 
coming  from  Isphahan  itself,  and  from  all  the  country 
round  about.  Soon  after  settling  down  to  the 
routine  work,  a  little  Persian  boy  was  brought  to 
me  from  an  outlying  village  by  his  father.  He  was 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  his  face  was  badly 
disfigured  from  a  "  hare-lip."  The  Persians  believe 
that  this  congenital  malformation  is  the  mark  left 
by  the  foot  of  the  Evil  One,  so  this  poor  boy  was 
known  in  his  village  by  the  unenviable  title  "  little 
devil,"  and  had  been  a  good  deal  tormented  by  his 
playfellows.  He  was  admitted  to  hospital,  operated 
upon  successfully,  and  after  some  ten  days'  careful 
treatment  the  dressing  was  finally  removed,  and  I 
handed  the  boy  a  mirror  that  he  might  look  for  the 
first  time  upon  his  "  new "  face.  As  I  watched  his 
countenance  while  he  regarded  himself  steadfastly  in 
the  glass,  I  was  amply  repaid  for  the  time  and  trouble 
spent,  by  his  look  of  joy,  incredulity,  and  amazement. 
Tears  of  joy  rolled  down  his  face  as  he  kissed  my 
hand,  and  murmured  brokenly,  "  I  am  no  longer  a 
little  devil,  I  am  no  longer  a  little  devil ! "  He  could 
go  back  to  his  village  now  gladly,  no  longer  fearing 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

to  join  in  the  games  of  his  comrades,  and  I  feel  sure 
he  afterwards  often  posed  as  a  hero  in  his  little 
village,  as,  the  centre  of  an  admiring  throng,  he 
recounted  the  details  of  his  visit,  treatment,  and  cure 
at  the  Mission  Hospital. 

In  all  Mohammedan  lands,  doctors  always  find  it 
extremely  difficult  to  persuade  their  patients  to  sub- 
mit to  amputation.  However  hopeless  a  condition  the 
injured  limb  may  be  in,  many  would  rather  die  than 
enter  Paradise  maimed.  Some  perhaps  fancy  that 
after  death,  when  the  prophet  Mohammed  comes  to 
conduct  them  over  that  fragile  bridge  that  leads  to 
the  "realm  of  the  blest,"  he  would  indignantly  re- 
pudiate the  claims  of  an  armless  or  legless  disciple ! 
However  that  may  be,  the  fact  remains  that  many  a 
poor  patient  dies  who  might,  by  timely  amputation, 
have  recovered  and  lived  for  many  years.  But 
curiously  enough,  soon  after  our  arrival  in  Julfa,  I 
admitted,  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  two  Per- 
sians suffering  from  diseases  of  the  legs  necessitating 
amputation,  and  both,  after  much  persuasion,  agreed 
to  the  operation  being  performed.  Both  were  men, 
and  had  been  admitted  to  different  wards,  but  as 
after-events  proved,  neither  knew  of  the  other's 
presence  in  the  hospital :  both  thus  believed  that  he 
was  the  only  Mohammedan  doomed  to  pass  the  rest 
of  his  life  bereft  of  one  leg,  with  the  possible  risk  of 
non-admittance  hereafter  to  the  Moslem  Paradise. 

The  two  amputations  were  duly  performed,  on 
different  days ;  the  amputated  limbs  being  at  once 
handed  to  the  relatives  for  decent  interment.  Both 
patients  made  good  recoveries,  their  progress  being 
somewhat  retarded  by  their  continual  lamentation 

142 


A  VERY  ANCIENT  BRIDGE 

Built  over  the  river  which  divides  the  city  of  Isphahan  from  its  Christian  suburb  of  Julfa. 


A  TYPICAL  STREET  IN  BAGHDAD 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

over  their  irreparable  loss.  In  due  course  of  time, 
crutches  were  provided,  and  the  two  men  were  en- 
couraged to  practise  walking  with  their  aid.  A  day 
or  two  later  I  was  standing  at  the  door  of  the  opera- 
tion theatre,  which  opened  into  a  corridor,  with  which 
both  the  men's  wards  communicated.  Suddenly  the 
doors  of  each  ward  opened  simultaneously,  and  on 
the  threshold  stood  these  two  men,  leaning  on  their 
crutches,  their  faces  a  perfect  picture  as  they  beheld 
each  other.  Remember  that,  in  some  curious  man- 
ner, neither  had  heard  of  the  presence  of  the  other  in 
the  hospital,  and  both  firmly  believed  that  he  was  the 
only  Mohammedan  that  had  ever  submitted  to  the 
indignity  of  losing  a  limb,  and  lo  and  behold,  here 
was  a  brother  in  affliction  !  Crutches  were  hurled  on 
one  side,  and  the  two  men,  hopping  across  the  cor- 
ridor, excitement  lending  them  the  needed  strength, 
fell  into  each  other's  arms,  rolling  over  and  over  on 
the  floor,  weeping,  condoling,  exclaiming,  while  we 
watched  the  scene,  highly  amused,  but  also  feeling 
inclined  to  weep  in  sympathy. 

The  Governor  of  Isphahan  was  H.R.H.  Zil-es- 
Sultan  (Shadow  of  the  King),  elder  brother  of  the 
late  Shah.  In  former  years  he  had  been  much  more 
powerful,  and  practically  ruled  over  Southern  Persia, 
but  his  enemies  in  Teheran  roused  the  suspicions  of 
the  Shah  against  him.  He  was  summoned  to  the 
capital,  and  there  kept  a  prisoner  in  his  house, 
but  ultimately  allowed  to  return  to  Isphahan  shorn 
of  his  former  power. 

The  Zil-es-Sultan  had  his  own  private  physician, 
but  would  often  call  in  the  English  doctor  either  for 
himself  or  his  household ;  in  this  way  1  made  his 

143 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

acquaintance,  and,  like  most  Europeans  who  have 
come  in  contact  with  him,  admired  both  his  shrewd- 
ness and  ability.  He  always  proved  himself  a  good 
friend  to  the  English  mission,  and  later  I  got  to  know 
much  more  intimately  his  eldest  son,  H.H.  Jalal-el- 
Dowleh,  who  was  the  able  governor  of  Yezd,  a  city 
some  three  hundred  miles  eastward  of  Isphahan. 

Soon  after  reaching  Julfa,  I  was  sent  for  by  the 
governor  to  examine  his  eyes.  I  found  him  in  a 
garden  outside  the  city,  which  he  had  just  had  con- 
structed for  a  summer  residence.  He  received  me 
cordially,  and,  after  the  business  part  of  the  interview 
was  over,  chatted  freely,  telling  me  of  all  he  had 
undergone  at  the  hands  of  other  physicians.  A  few 
years  before,  he  had  become  alarmed  about  the  state 
of  his  eyesight,  and  became  possessed  with  the  idea 
that  he  was  gradually  going  blind.  He  believed 
himself  to  be  suffering  from  a  very  hopeless  eye 
disease,  very  prevalent  in  Persia,  known  as  "black 
cataract"  (glaucoma),  and  despite  the  assurance  to 
the  contrary  given  by  Dr.  Carr  (the  English  doctor) 
and  others,  he  persisted  in  sending  for  two  eye 
specialists,  one  from  Paris,  the  other  from  London. 
Both  had  thoroughly  examined  his  sight,  and  had 
confirmed  Dr.  Carr's  assurances  that  there  was  no 
disease,  but  his  fears  had  put  him  to  considerable 
expense,  as  both  the  specialists  were  treated  right 
royally.  Laughingly  he  told  me  how  much  he  had 
dreaded  the  interview  with  the  London  specialist, 
and  how  the  fateful  day  had  at  last  come.  The 
doctor  had  merely  lightly  placed  his  fingers  on  the 
eye,  felt  the  tension,  and  then  had  smilingly  assured 

His  Royal  Highness  that  there  was  no  fear  of  glau- 

144 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

coma,  a  subsequent  careful  examination  confirming 
this  verdict.  "  And  to  think,"  pathetically  added  the 
governor,  "  that  I  had  spent  all  those  thousands  of 
pounds  for  nothing  ! "  Of  course  I  at  once  suggested 
that  to  have  had  all  his  fears  of  blindness  so  happily 
set  at  rest  more  than  compensated  for  any  expense 
that  he  might  have  incurred,  but  he  remained 
unconvinced. 

During  the  year  we  remained  in  Isphahan  I  had 
many  opportunities  of  being  received  by  the  governor. 
He  always  treated  me  with  the  same  kindness,  and 
upon  our  departure  for  Kerman,  presented  me  with 
a  large  signed  photograph  of  himself. 

Isphahan  is  a  great  city  that  has  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes :  at  one  time  it  was  the  capital  of 
Persia.  Its  population  to-day  is  probably  about 
150,000.  As  in  all  Shiah  (Mohammedan)  lands,  the 
priests  (mullahs)  possess  great  power.  The  Moslem 
archbishops  are  termed  "mujtiheds."  In  each 
Persian  city  there  are  generally  two  mujtiheds,  one 
official  (Sheikh-es-Islam),  the  other  elected  by  the 
people,  and  the  latter,  as  a  rule,  possessed  the  greater 
influence. 

In  1900  the  popular  mujtihed  was  the  eldest  of 
three  brothers,  all  mullahs.  His  power  was  very 
great — too  great  for  the  taste  of  the  Shah,  if  one  may 
credit  rumour.  Only  a  few  days  after  our  arrival,  a 
carriage  was  sent  for  me,  from  the  second  brother  of 
this  mujtihed,  who  for  many  weeks  had  been  anxiously 
looking  forward  to  the  arrival  of  an  English  "  hakim," 
as  he  was  suffering  from  a  troublesome  disease  which 
might  at  any  time  develop  serious  symptoms.  All 
these  Isphahan  mullahs  had  proved  themselves  hostile 

145  K 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

to  the  presence  of  foreigners,  and  on  more  than  one 
occasion  they  had  endeavoured,  by  preaching  against 
them  in  the  mosques,  to  inflame  the  populace  and 
cause  a  riot. 

At  the  patient's  house  I  was  joined  by  another 
doctor  (Dr.  Aganoor),  who  was  also  the  English 
Vice-Consul,  and  to  whom  we  were  indebted  for 
many  acts  of  kindness  during  our  stay  in  Isphahan. 
The  mullah  WPS  really  his  patient,  and  I  was  called 
in  for  consultation  as  to  the  advisability  of  operating. 
We  were  ushered  into  a  large  room  with  a  fountain 
playing  in  the  centre,  and  there  we  found  the  patient, 
supported  by  both  his  brothers,  besides  innumerable 
friends. 

We  sat  in  solemn  conclave  for  over  an  hour,  dis- 
cussing the  pros  and  cons  of  the  case,  and  then, 
having  decided  upon  the  course  of  treatment,  we 
took  our  departure.  Some  days  later  we  were  again 
sent  for,  and  found  our  patient  in  great  pain,  and  the 
whole  house  crowded  with  his  innumerable  friends, 
who  had  hurriedly  come  together  at  the  rumour  of 
his  approaching  death. 

Our  patient  was  in  a  very  excited  state,  angrily 
refusing  the  consolation  offered  by  his  disciples  and 
friends,  and  violently  shouting,  "  A  thousand  tomans 
(£200)  to  any  one  who  can  take  away  this  pain." 
Then,  as  he  felt  an  extra  bad  twinge,  "  Ten  thousand 
tomans  to  any  one  who  will  cure  this  pain "  (about 
£2000). 

However,  we  soothed  him,  injected  a  little  mor- 
phia, assured  him  there  was  no  immediate  danger, 
and  as  the  sedative  commenced  to  work,  and  the  pain 

disappeared,  with  it  went  all  thought  of  rewarding 

i  *  f 
146 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

his  benefactors :  on  the  contrary,  he  took  extra  trouble 
to  explain  how  poor  a  man  he  really  was,  and  that  it 
was  due  to  the  malice  of  his  enemies  that  rumour 
reputed  him  wealthy.  However,  to  cut  a  long  story 
short,  by  means  of  a  simple  operation,  and  much 
patient  care  and  attention  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Aganoor, 
he  ultimately  made  a  good  recovery,  and  was  really 
grateful,  using  his  influence  afterwards  rather  to 
restrain  than  augment  the  anti-European  fanaticism 
of  his  other  two  brethren.  Later  a  nephew  of  the 
chief  mujtihed,  himself  a  mullah,  actually  consented 
to  come  into  hospital  to  undergo  an  urgently  needed 
operation,  and  this  proving  successful,  gained  for  us 
another  staunch  friend  from  priestly  quarters,  whose 
friendship  stood  us  in  good  stead  on  another  occasion 
which  might  have  ended  rather  differently,  but  for 
his  intervention.  A  few  months  had  elapsed: 
rumours  still  reached  us  from  the  city  of  occasional 
attempts  made  to  stir  up  the  fanaticism  of  the  people 
against  us,  the  chief  offender  being  the  third  and 
youngest  brother  of  the  mujtihed  before  mentioned. 

One  day  Dr.  Aganoor  and  I  were  both  sent  for 
in  a  great  hurry.  We  heard  that  the  whole  city  was 
in  an  uproar,  that  this  fanatical  mullah  had  been 
poisoned,  some  said  "  by  order  of  the  Shah,"  others 
that  the  governor  had  asked  him  to  a  feast,  and  as 
he  returned,  ere  reaching  home,  the  symptoms  had 
started ;  others  that  the  women  of  his  "  anderoon " 
(quarter  of  the  house  in  which  no  man  but  the 
husband  may  enter)  had  given  him  "  oil  of  bitter 
almonds"  by  mistake.  On  approaching  the  house 
we  found  a  crowd  round  the  door,  and  the  house 
itself  packed  with  disciples  and  friends  of  the  great 

147 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

man.  We  were  hurriedly  shown  into  a  large  hall, 
with  marble  pillars  and  floor,  densely  crowded  with  a 
mass  of  human  beings,  all  engaged  in  watching  the 
last  gasps  of  the  poor  mullah,  who  was  lying  on  a 
pile  of  carpets  stretched  on  the  marble  floor.  We 
learnt  to  our  dismay  that  he  had  been  unconscious 
for  four  hours,  and  apparently  precautions  had  been 
taken  that  the  English  doctors  should  not  be  called 
in  until  that  amount  of  time  had  elapsed.  Before 
that  intent,  silent,  fanatical  crowd,  we  did  all  that 
could  be  done  to  save  the  life  of  the  man  who  had 
been  our  bitter  enemy,  taking  turns  to  perform  arti- 
ficial respiration,  &c.,  but  all  in  vain,  for,  as  in  my 
turn  I  worked  the  dying  man's  arms,  he  took  his  last 
breath,  and  I  whispered  Dr.  Aganoor  that  all  was 
over.  It  was  getting  towards  midnight.  Julfa  was 
three  miles  distant,  and  we  were  alone  in  the  midst 
of  that  fanatical  crowd.  Well  did  my  colleague 
know  that  once  the  intimation  was  given  that  the 
end  had  come,  the  scene  would  baffle  description ; 
the  whole  city  would  be  roused,  and  our  lives  might 
even  be  in  danger ;  knowing  these  things,  he  whis- 
pered me  to  go  on  performing  artificial  respiration 
while  he  got  ready  to  go.  So  I  went  on  with  my 
task,  working  the  dead  man's  arms  until  all  was  ready 
for  our  instant  departure.  Then  reverently  folding 
his  hands  on  his  breast,  I  drew  over  his  face  the 
coverlet,  as  an  intimation  that  all  was  over.  I  never 
again  wish  to  hear  such  a  yell  as  then  arose  from  the 
throats  of  that  great  throng.  Doors  were  flung  open, 
the  mob  from  without  rushed  into  the  room,  women 
poured  in  belonging  to  the  dead  man's  household, 
shrieking,  wailing,  tearing  their  clothes  and  hair. 

148 


USING   THB   X-RAYS   IN  JULFA   HOSPITAL 

The  two  assistants  are  both  Armenians.     The  girls  make  very  good  nurses,  and  the  boys  as  a  rule 
quickly  become  very  efficient  helpers  in  the  mission  hospitals. 


A  WARD  IN  THE  JULFA  HOSPITAL 

This  was  a  corner  of  the  men's  ward  in  the  old  hospital  at  Julfa.     Now  a  large  new  hospital  ha 
been  built  in  Isphahan  with  accommodation  for  one  hundred  patients. 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

Some  of  them  made  a  wild  rush  at  us  as  they  passed, 
and  it  really  looked  a  bit  serious,  for  already  amidst 
the  uproar  we  could  detect  occasional  cries  of  "  The 
Feringhis  have  poisoned  him."  To  my  relief,  amidst 
the  excited  throng  I  noticed  the  face  of  my  old  friend 
the  mujtihed's  nephew,  who  had  been  an  in-patient 
in  the  hospital,  and  when  he  noticed  that  I  had 
observed  him,  he  beckoned  us  to  follow  him.  We 
obeyed  gladly,  and  he  led  us  away  by  a  private 
passage,  which  finally  emerged  into  a  public  square 
a  long  distance  from  the  dead  man's  house.  There 
our  good  Samaritan  left  us,  promising  to  send  us  our 
horses  and  servants,  whom  we  had  left  waiting  out- 
side the  patient's  house.  As  we  waited  for  them  to 
come,  we  could  hear  the  sound  of  cries  from  all  parts 
of  the  city,  followed  by  wailing  of  women,  and  the 
scurrying  of  many  feet,  as  all  flocked  to  the  quarter 
where  the  holy  man's  body  lay.  At  last  our  servants 
and  animals  arrived,  and  we  made  haste  to  escape, 
reaching  home  after  midnight,  thankful  to  God  for 
preserving  us  from  what  might  have  proved  a  very 
dangerous  position.  Next  day  we  heard  that  the 
whole  city  had  gone  into  mourning ;  all  the  bazaars 
were  shut,  and  the  shops  draped  with  black,  and  this 
mourning  was  kept  up  five  whole  days.  Rumours 
were  persistently  circulated  that  the  English  doctors 
had  poisoned  the  mullah,  but  no  one  really  believed 
it,  and  I  was  able  to  attend  the  city  dispensary  as 
usual,  even  during  the  funeral  ceremonies,  and 
patients  rather  increased  than  diminished,  some  of 
the  dead  man's  relatives  even  coming  for  treatment. 
So  ended  priestly  opposition ;  the  chief  mujtihed 

himself  was  frightened  at  the  mode  of  his  brother's 

149 


PERSIAN    MEDICAL    MISSIONS 

death,  and  kept  very  quiet,  for  fear,  perhaps,  that  a 
similar  accident  might  happen  to  him.  His  surviving 
brother  and  relatives  were  now  quite  friendly,  and  a 
few  years  later  Dr.  Carr  was  able  to  obtain  ground 
and  build  an  excellent  hospital  in  Isphahan  itself, 
welcomed  alike  by  officials  and  priests.  There  is  also 
an  excellent  Women's  Hospital  (C.M.S.),  in  charge 
of  Dr.  Emmeline  Stuart,  who  has  for  many  years 
given  her  life  to  work  amongst  Moslem  women,  and 
whose  name  is  held  dear  by  many  a  poor  Persian 
village  woman,  who  has  found  relief  and  loving  care 
at  her  hands,  and  those  of  her  staff. 


150 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PIONEER  MEDICAL   MISSION  WORK   IN   KERMAN1 

Pioneer  Medical  Mission  work  in  Kennan — Waiting  for  drugs  and  instru- 
ments— Native  assistant  proves  a  broken  reed — First  operation  in  Ker- 
man — An  anxious  moment — Success — Doctrine  of  "  savab  "  convenient 
to  the  Moslem — Fanaticism  tempered  with  prudence — Opium  slaves — 
Persian  therapeutics — Persian  quacks  and  their  methods — Sure  way  of 
curing  cancer— Hysteria. 

"  Charms  for  lovers,  charms  to  break, 

Charms  to  bind  them  to  you  wholly, 
Medicines  fit  for  every  ache, 
Fever  and  fanciful  melancholy." 

R.  BRIDGES. 

WE  had  been  appointed  to  open  a  Medical  Mission 
in  this  city,  and  as  soon  as  our  temporary 
residence  in  Isphahan  was  finished,  proceeded  to  our 
original  destination.  We  arrived  at  Kerman  early 
in  1901,  and  received  a  hearty  welcome  from  the 
only  other  European  there — the  Rev.  A.  R.  Blackett, 
also  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Two  houses 
were  secured,  both  outside  the  city  wall ;  in  one  we 
took  up  our  residence,  while  the  other  was  made 
into  a  dispensary,  and  small  temporary  hospital. 
Unfortunately  we  arrived  before  our  supply  of  drugs 
and  surgical  instruments,  so  we  had  to  do  our  best 
with  the  very  small  stock  of  medicines  borrowed 
from  our  stations  in  Isphahan  and  Yezd.  However, 
patients  began  to  come  in  large  numbers,  and  the 
out-patient  department  was  soon  in  full  swing. 

1  By  Dr.  A.  Hume-Griffith. 
151 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

We  had  brought  with  us  from  Isphahan  two 
Armenians  to  act  as  assistants,  one  for  dispensing, 
the  other  (a  man  who  had  been  employed  in  the 
Mission  for  many  years)  to  interpret  and  help 
generally  in  the  work.  I  had  hoped  much  from 
this  last-named  assistant,  and  had  relied  upon  him 
greatly  for  advice  and  help,  as  he  had  been  in 
Kerman  before,  and  knew  the  people ;  but  I  soon 
found  him  a  "  broken  reed."  He  was  married  and 
had  a  large  family,  which  he  had  been  obliged  to 
leave  behind  in  Isphahan,  and  very  soon  he  began 
to  show  signs  of  home-sickness.  Then  he  com- 
menced to  imagine  himself  ill,  and  developed 
symptoms  of  different  ailments.  In  the  first  place 
he  one  day  came  to  me  with  a  woeful  face,  and 
besought  me  to  carefully  examine  his  chest,  for  he 
was  convinced  he  was  developing  phthisis.  After 
being  reassured  on  this  point,  he  became  absolutely 
sure  that  he  had  heart  disease ;  next  his  kidneys 
troubled  him,  and  so  on,  until  he  became  a  con- 
firmed hypochondriac,  and  completely  useless  for 
work.  One  day  I  remember  his  coming  to  me 
imploring  that  I  would  inject  morphia  to  relieve 
him  of  the  intense  pain  from  which  he  was  suffering. 
I  gravely  took  the  hypodermic  syringe,  and  carefully 
injected  distilled  water,  and  the  pain  disappeared 
with  lightning  rapidity ! 

However,  I  had  to  send  him  home,  and  I  believe 
that,  once  safely  reunited  to  his  family,  he  at  once 
lost  all  his  symptoms,  and  was  able  to  resume  his 
old  work  at  the  hospital. 

In    the    meanwhile   my   surgical   patients   were 

clamouring    for   operations,   more    especially    those 

152 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

afflicted  with  cataract.  I  had  opened  another 
dispensary  in  the  city  itself,  and  many  poor  blind 
people  had  come  for  treatment.  It  went  to  one's 
heart  to  have  to  send  them  away  day  after  day  with 
the  same  disheartening  story.  "  The  instruments 
have  not  yet  come ;  until  they  arrive,  nothing  can 
be  done."  I  fear  that  many  commenced  to  think 
that  the  English  doctor  was  a  fraud,  and  that  his 
excuses  concerning  the  instruments  resembled  those 
framed  by  their  own  "hakims"  to  hide  their  own 
ignorance.  At  last  the  boxes  actually  arrived.  They 
had  to  be  brought  by  caravan  from  Bushire  (the 
port  in  the  Persian  Gulf)  to  Kerman,  via  Shiraz  and 
Yezd,  a  distance  of  some  eight  hundred  miles,  taking 
a  couple  of  months. 

We  admitted  our  first  in-patient,  a  well-known 
merchant  in  the  city,  who  had  been  blind  for  three 
years  with  cataract.  The  Persian  surgeons  also 
operate  for  this  disease,  using  the  old  Eastern 
operation  known  as  "  couching."  An  incision  is 
made  into  the  white  of  the  eyeball  (without  any 
anaesthetic),  then  a  thick,  blunt  probe  is  worked  into 
the  interior  of  the  eye,  directed  so  as  to  dislocate 
the  lens.  If  successful,  the  lens  drops  back  into 
the  posterior  chamber  of  the  eye,  and  the  patient 
"  sees,"  but  alas,  the  vision  obtained  is,  in  ninety- 
eight  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  only  temporary  1 
Twenty-four  hours  later,  inflammation  of  the  eye 
supervenes,  and  the  sight  is  gone,  and  the  eye  lost. 
Needless  to  say,  the  operator  obtains  his  fee  either 
before  the  operation  is  done,  or  during  the  few  hours 
that  his  patient  is  rejoicing  in  his  newly  found  vision  ; 
then  if  he  is  wise  he  disappears  from  the  town,  and 

153 


MEDICAL    MISSION   IN   KERMAN 

resumes  his  practice  elsewhere.  However,  during 
eight  years'  practice  in  the  East,  and  having  had 
the  opportunity  of  examining  thousands  of  eyes,  I 
can  remember  two  cases  only  where  this  operation 
had  been  done  and  there  had  been  no  subsequent 
inflammation,  but  the  great  majority  of  eyes  are  lost. 

Well,  we  had  our  first  Kerman  cataract  patient, 
and  it  seemed  to  us  as  though  the  whole  future  of 
the  little  pioneer  Medical  Mission  depended  upon  the 
success  or  failure  of  that  operation. 

The  day  fixed  for  the  operation  arrived  :  a  Persian 
doctor  practising  in  the  city  had  requested  leave  to 
be  present,  no  doubt  on  behalf  of  the  many  friends 
of  the  patient,  to  report  particulars  and  see  fair  play. 
The  patient  was  brought  in,  looking  exceedingly 
nervous.  After  a  short  prayer  (a  practice  almost  in- 
variably adopted  in  medical  missionary  hospitals,  and 
much  appreciated  by  the  patient,  even  though  he  be 
a  fanatical  Moslem),  the  operation  was  started.  I  am 
afraid  we  were  all  unduly  nervous,  the  possible  con- 
sequences for  good  or  ill  to  the  Mission  assuming 
undue  proportions.  At  any  rate  everything  went 
wrong ;  the  cocaine  (used  as  the  anaesthetic)  would 
not  work,  the  old  man  could  not  keep  his  eye  still, 
and  would  look  up  when  he  was  told  to  look  down. 
I  was  only  able  to  complete  the  incision,  and  that 
with  the  greatest  difficulty;  and  fearing  to  proceed 
further,  the  patient  getting  more  and  more  excited, 
I  had  reluctantly  to  postpone  the  operation  for  a 
couple  of  days.  We  all  felt  very  depressed,  except, 
perhaps,  the  Persian  "  hakim,"  who  doubtless  greatly 
relished  the  failure  of  the  English  doctor.  However, 

two  days  later  we  tried  again,  the  Persian  hakim 

154 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

once  more  being  amongst  the  spectators.  Much 
prayer  had  been  offered  up  that  this  time  there  might 
be  no  hitch.  Everything  at  first  went  well ;  the 
patient  lay  quite  quietly,  moved  his  eye  exactly  as 
he  was  told,  the  cocaine  proved  satisfactory,  the 
incision  was  remade,  and  other  preliminary  steps  in 
the  operation  disposed  of:  then  came  the  hitch.  In 
the  European  method  of  operating  for  cataract,  the 
opaque  lens  is  extruded  from  the  eye  by  gentle 
pressure,  through  the  incision  first  made.  Well, 
when  the  time  came  for  the  lens  to  be  extruded,  it 
would  not  budge !  I  tried  all  possible  means  of  ex- 
traction without  success  (afterwards  I  discovered  that 
adhesions  had  formed  between  the  lens  and  the 
curtain  of  the  eye,  as  a  result  of  the  first  operation). 
The  perspiration  ran  down  my  face,  as  I  realised 
what  this  second  failure  meant,  not  so  much  for  my 
own  reputation,  but  the  hindrance  it  would  prove 
to  the  success  of  the  work  I  loved.  I  glanced  at  my 
wife :  she  was  looking  very  anxious.  -  I  looked  at  my 
assistants  :  their  faces  were  pictures  of  dismay.  They 
had  seen  me  before  in  Isphahan  do  many  a  cataract, 
and  could  not  imagine  what  had  gone  wrong.  The 
Persian  doctor  looked  particularly  happy :  he  smiled 
as  he  politely  expressed  his  sorrow  that  I  was  ex- 
periencing any  difficulty  in  bringing  the  operation 
to  a  successful  issue.  It  certainly  was  an  awkward 
fix — perhaps  the  most  awkward  that  I  have  ever 
been  in ;  but  as  I  lifted  up  my  heart  in  silent  prayer 
to  God,  asking  for  guidance,  the  thought  flashed  into 
my  mind,  "  The  man  has  both  eyes  blind  :  you  have 
failed  with  the  one ;  do  the  other  at  once,  and  it  will 
prove  successful." 

155 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

Gently  covering  the  eye  that  had  proved  a  failure, 
I  explained  matters  to  the  patient,  obtained  his 
permission,  thoroughly  cleansed  his  other  eye,  and 
proceeded  to  operate,  meeting  with  no  difficulty  and 
easily  extracting  the  lens,  to  the  palpable  disappoint- 
ment of  my  Persian  medical  friend,  and  was  over- 
joyed to  find  that  the  patient  old  man  had  obtained 
exceedingly  good  vision.  After  a  week  the  patient 
went  back  to  his  friends,  seeing  well,  and  full  of 
gratitude  for  all  the  kindness  and  care  he  had 
received.  I  saw  him  some  months  later,  and  in- 
quired whether  he  cared  to  let  me  have  another  try 
at  the  eye  that  had  proved  unsuccessful ;  but  he 
refused,  saying  he  was  an  old  man,  and  had  obtained 
good  sight  with  the  one,  and  did  not  need  to  see 
with  the  other.  Of  course  the  result  of  this  first 
operation  had  been  anxiously  awaited  by  many,  and 
since  it  proved  successful,  we  soon  had  our  little 
temporary  hospital  full,  and  had  no  further  trouble 
in  getting  in-patients.  I  have  described  this  case 
rather  fully,  avoiding  technical  terms  as  far  as 
possible,  as  it  illustrates  fairly  well  the  difficulties 
and  responsibilities  met  with  and  tackled  by  pioneer 
workers,  be  they  missionary  or  official. 

The  Persians  (especially  the  Kermanis)  have  a 
great  idea  of  doing  "  savabs  "  (good  works),  hoping  to 
reap  their  reward  hereafter.  This  is  common  to  the 
West  as  well  as  the  East ;  but  the  Kermanis  in  addi- 
tion hold  a  convenient  doctrine,  namely,  the  appro- 
priation of  the  savabs  of  infidels  for  themselves  !  At 
least  one  of  the  chief  mullahs  in  Kerman  surprised 
me  somewhat  by  the  cordial  reception  he  accorded 
me ;  but  later  said,  "  How  glad  he  was  that  I  had 

156 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

come  to  Kerman  and  was  doing  such  '  good  works  ' 
amongst  the  sick  and  poor,  as  hereafter  God  would 
credit  the  true  Moslems  with  all  the  savabs  done  by 
infidels,  who  of  course  could  derive  no  benefit  at  all 
from  their  performance." 

As  Kerman  is  a  city  proverbial  amongst  the 
Persians  for  its  great  wickedness,  I  could  understand 
the  old  mullah's  satisfaction,  as  doubtless  he  felt  that 
many  of  their  savab  accounts  were  rather  low  and 
needed  a  trifle  of  "  credit,"  which  might  with  advan- 
tage be  obtained  from  the  savabs  of  an  infidel  doctor  ! 

Once  yearly  the  Persians  celebrate  the  death  of 
the  martyrs  Hassain  and  Hussein,  as  has  already  been 
described  in  a  previous  chapter.  We  had  a  good 
opportunity  of  witnessing  this  Persian  Passion  Play 
while  in  Kerman.  The  sword-dancers,  clad  in 
white  garments,  work  themselves  up  into  a  frenzy, 
gashing  their  heads  with  the  swords  and  sometimes 
inflicting  severe  wounds.  A  true  believer  is  supposed 
to  have  his  self-inflicted  wounds  healed  spontaneously 
through  the  agency  of  Hazrati  AH  (grandson  of  the 
prophet  Mohammed) ;  but  I  was  a  little  amused  by 
the  appearance  of  several  of  these  devotees  at  my 
out-patient  clinique  some  days  previous  to  the  "  cele- 
bration," all  of  them  begging  for  a  little  English 
ointment  to  keep  by  them  for  use  in  case  miraculous 
healing  should  be  delayed. 

As  has  been  already  mentioned,  the  curse  of 
Kerman  is  opium ;  everybody  smokes  or  eats  it — 
generally  the  former.  The  native  doctors  are  partly 
responsible,  as  they  recommend  the  drug  as  a  "  cure- 
all  " ;  but  even  the  cultured  Kermani  smokes 

opium,  possibly  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  his  life ! 

157 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

Cases  of  poisoning  repeatedly  occur,  and  some  of 
these  we  were  called  upon  to  treat.  Our  dispensary 
had  a  small  garden  attached  to  it,  and  when  the 
Mission  had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people  it 
was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  several  opium  patients 
being  treated  at  the  same  time  in  this  garden.  The 
treatment  used,  though  somewhat  vigorous,  proved 
very  effective.  A  man  would  arrive  at  the  dispen- 
sary, escorted  by  an  excited  throng  of  relatives.  On 
inquiry  we  would  find  that  he  had  taken  a  big  dose 
of  opium  to  end  his  life :  afterwards  repenting,  he 
had  confessed  to  his  relatives,  and  they  had  at  once 
brought  him  to  the  English  doctor.  The  treatment 
began  with  the  administration  of  a  strong  emetic 
followed  by  repeated  doses  of  strong  coffee  ;  then  he 
would  be  handed  over  to  the  care  of  an  attendant, 
with  instructions  to  walk  him  round  and  round  the 
garden  and  prevent  his  going  to  sleep.  The  native 
assistants  and  the  patient's  friends,  armed  with  sticks, 
carried  out  these  instructions,  and  at  the  first  signs  of 
languor  exhibited  by  the  unfortunate  man  he  would 
be  beaten  and  kept  effectually  awake ! 

One  day  I  was  summoned  in  haste  to  the  house 
of  an  influential  Kermani ;  his  only  son,  a  child  of 
two  years,  had  been  poisoned  with  opium.  It  is  a 
common  practice  in  Kerman  for  mothers  to  keep 
their  babies  from  crying  by  giving  them  a  little 
opium  to  suck.  This  boy's  mother  had  given  him  a 
big  lump  by  mistake,  and  grew  alarmed  when  she 
found  that  all  her  attempts  to  wake  him  were  in- 
effectual !  On  arriving  at  the  house  with  my  assistant, 
we  had  considerable  difficulty  in  making  our  way  into 
the  courtyard,  as  it  was  thronged  with  all  the  relatives 

158 


Hi 


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3  S.  Eg 

H-all 

s  «  s, 


S  *  a 


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u  *• 
J1-  S 


IfH 

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i. 

>   C  g  O 
B««i  (Q  «*• 


MEDICAL    MISSION   IN   KERMAN 

and  friends ;  the  neighbouring  houses  were  crowded, 
a  great  multitude  thronging  the  flat  roofs,  which 
commanded  a  good  view  of  the  courtyard  belonging 
to  the  patient's  father.  On  examining  my  little 
patient  I  found  him  nearly  dead,  exhibiting  all  the 
symptoms  of  an  overdose  of  opium.  However,  for 
over  an  hour  we  worked  away,  washing  out  the 
child's  stomach,  injecting  strong  coffee,  &c.,  all  in  the 
open  air  before  the  excited  multitude,  and  gradually 
the  little  patient  showed  signs  of  recovery.  When 
he  had  come  completely  round  and  was  crying 
vigorously,  there  was  great  rejoicing.  Thinking  the 
opportunity  too  good  a  one  to  be  lost,  I  asked  my 
assistant  to  tell  the  father  that  God  had  heard 
prayer  and  restored  him  his  child,  and  that  we 
would  now  like  him  to  join  with  us  and  thank  God 
for  answering  our  prayers,  if  he  would  tell  the  crowd 
what  we  intended  doing.  Although  the  father  was 
a  mullah,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  very  fana- 
tical in  his  hatred  of  Christians,  he  at  once  consented 
to  our  proposition,  announcing  to  the  crowd  our 
intention.  During  the  short  thanksgiving  prayer 
every  head  was  bowed  and  not  a  sound  of  protest 
heard,  while  Christian  and  Moslem  alike  returned 
thanks  to  the  great  God  who  had  heard  and  answered 
prayer.  Medical  Missions  had  once  again  won  a 
triumph  over  Moslem  fanaticism,  and  the  scowls  and 
threatening  looks  which  had  greeted  our  arrival  were 
replaced  by  cordial  thanks  and  vehement  expressions 
of  gratitude  1 

Persian  therapeutics  are  very  simple,  dating  back 
to  the  time  of  Hippocrates.     All  diseases  are  divided 

into    two    classes  —  hot   and   cold  —  to   be  treated 

159 


accordingly  with  hot  or  cold  remedies.  All  foods 
are  similarly  classified.  With  this  knowledge,  plus 
a  few  Persian  medical  books  and  an  appropriate 
turban,  the  native  quack  sets  up  as  a  doctor.  His 
impudence  and  native  wit  are  inexhaustible ;  he  will 
cheer  his  patients  with  extracts  from  Hafiz  or  Ferdosi 
(the  great  Persian  poets),  talk  learnedly  of  vapours, 
and  have  a  specific  for  every  mortal  ailment.  The 
quack  physician  is  amusing,  and  probably  confines 
himself  to  fairly  harmless  compounds ;  but  the  Persian 
surgeon  is  a  man  to  be  avoided  at  all  costs.  Of 
course,  I  am  only  here  speaking  of  quacks ;  in 
Teheran  there  is  a  good  medical  school,  and  many 
of  the  graduates  from  that  school  proceed  to  Paris  or 
Berlin,  and  return  fully  qualified  to  exercise  their 
profession ;  but  they  also  have  to  compete  with  these 
native  quacks. 

I  remember  one  case  of  a  poor  man  brought  to 
the  dispensary  with  a  big  swelling  on  the  left  knee, 
which  prevented  his  straightening  the  leg.  Careful 
examination  convinced  me  that  the  case  was  one  of 
malignant  cancer  of  the  thigh  bone,  and  that  nothing 
could  be  done  but  amputation.  This  was  explained 
to  the  patient  and  his  father,  who  indignantly  rejected 
the  proposed  operation.  I  lost  sight  of  the  man,  but 
some  weeks  later  one  of  my  assistants  asked  me  if  I 
remembered  the  case ;  on  my  replying  in  the  affirma- 
tive, he  informed  me  that  the  patient  had  since  died. 
It  seems  after  leaving  the  dispensary  the  father  had 
taken  his  son  (a  young  man  twenty  years  old)  to  a 
native  surgeon  (who  combined  the  exercise  of  his 
profession  most  appropriately  with  the  trade  of  a 
butcher)  and  asked  his  advice,  saying  the  English 

160 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN   KERMAN 

doctor  had  advised  amputation  of  the  leg ;  but  he 
had  refused,  as  the  swelling  caused  little  pain,  and  all 
his  son  wanted  was  to  be  able  to  straighten  his  leg  so 
that  he  might  once  again  walk.  "  Oh,"  replied  the 
butcher,  "that's  easily  done;  that  English  doctor 
knows  nothing ;  I  will  cure  him."  So  he  got  the 
father  and  other  men  to  hold  the  unfortunate  youth 
firmly  and  some  other  helper  to  seize  the  leg ;  then 
seizing  a  huge  slab  of  stone  in  both  his  hands,  he 
brought  it  down  with  all  his  force  on  the  bent  knee. 
The  leg  was  straightened  .  .  .  and  needless  to  add, 
the  poor  patient  only  survived  a  few  days. 

My  wife  has  written  quite  sufficient  about  the 
Persian  women  to  enable  her  readers  to  appreciate 
the  monotony  of  their  lives  behind  the  veil.  This  is 
more  especially  true  of  the  upper  classes,  who  have 
no  need  to  work  for  their  living.  In  Kerman  the 
usual  result  is  that  many  of  these  poor  women  suffer 
from  hysteria.  I  have  often  been  called  in  to  treat 
some  of  these  patients,  and  have  found  them  develop 
almost  all  the  varying  types  of  that  curious  disease ; 
but  one  of  the  most  interesting  cases  I  ever  remember 
occurred  in  Kerman. 

I  had  been  treating  the  unmarried  daughter  of 
one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  city,  and  had  pre- 
scribed for  her  some  simple  bismuth  mixture,  as  she 
had  complained  of  indigestion.  Two  days  later  her 
brother  came  galloping  his  horse  to  the  dispensary, 
and  demanded  to  see  me  immediately.  He  was 
greatly  excited,  and  said  that  his  sister  had  been 
taking  the  medicine  I  had  prescribed  for  her  and  had 
suddenly  gone  blind.  This  was  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Medical  Mission,  and  I  was  especially  anxious  to 

161  L 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN    KERMAN 

win  the  confidence  of  the  people,  so  did  not  at  all 
appreciate  this  complication.  I  assured  the  brother 
that  I  would  return  with  him  at  once,  and  informed 
him  that  the  medicine  could  not  possibly  have  caused 
the  blindness  ;  but  he  was  not  at  all  appeased.  Upon 
reaching  the  house  I  found  all  the  family  distracted 
with  grief,  and  not  at  all  inclined  to  be  cordial. 
Moreover,  they  had  called  in  a  native  eye-doctor, 
who  had  gravely  announced  that  the  blindness  was 
most  certainly  due  to  the  patient  having  taken  the 
infidel's  medicine  !  In  order  to  reassure  the  parents 
I  bade  them  bring  the  bottle  of  medicine,  and,  find- 
ing there  were  still  two  or  three  doses  left,  called 
for  a  glass,  poured  out  the  remainder,  and  drank  it. 
This  seemed  to  reassure  them  partially,  so  they 
allowed  me  to  examine  the  girl.  She  was  a  nervous, 
highly-strung  patient,  and  I  had  expected  to  find 
that  she  had  been  malingering ;  but  to  my  surprise, 
upon  thorough  examination  I  convinced  myself  that 
she  had  really  gone  blind.  Examination  of  the  inte- 
rior of  the  eyes  showed  no  disease,  and  upon  inquiry, 
finding  that  she  was  the  subject  of  periodical  hyste- 
rical attacks,  I  ventured  to  predict  to  the  parents 
that  with  suitable  care  and  supervision  the  girl  would 
regain  her  sight.  They  were  still  inclined  to  be 
sceptical,  but  ten  days  later  I  heard  that  my  predic- 
tion had  come  true  and  that  she  was  quite  cured. 
Similar  cases  of  hysterical  loss  of  vision  are  on  record, 
but  are  exceedingly  rare. 

Barely  had  we  managed  to  get  the  little  Medical 
Mission  well  started  when  circumstances  connected 
with  my  wife's  health  arose  that  forced  us  to  leave  at 

a  moment's  notice  the  people  we  had  learnt  to  love. 

162 


MEDICAL    MISSION    IN    KERMAN 

Fortunately  the  work  was  not  given  up ;  another 
doctor  succeeded  me,  and  now  there  is  a  flourishing 
Medical  Mission  with  two  hospitals,  one  for  men  and 
the  other  for  women  patients,  with  a  lady  doctor  and 
nurse ;  while  the  influence  exerted  by  that  Mission 
is  felt  throughout  the  whole  of  the  great  Kerman 
province,  which  stretches  eastwards  to  the  border  of 
Beloochistan,  and  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the 
Persian  Gulf. 


163 


A    hospital — A    friendly    governor — A    suspicious   case — Superstition — The 
opium  habit — A  case  of  cataract — We  return  to  England. 

"  By  medicine  life  may  be  prolonged  .  .  . 
With  the  help  of  a  surgeon  he  may  yet  recover." 

SHAKESPEAKE. 

nnHE  last  of  our  three  years'  sojourn  in  Persia  was 
JL  spent  in  Yezd.  Here  there  was  already  a  small 
Mission  Hospital,  all  the  pioneer  work  having  been 
done  by  Dr.  White  of  the  C.M.S.  A  wealthy  Parsee 
merchant  had  presented  the  site  for  a  hospital  in  the 
form  of  an  old  caravanserai  (an  Eastern  inn).  This 
had  been  gutted  and  made  into  a  nice  little  hospital, 
with  an  out-patient  department.  Dr.  White  being 
on  furlough,  the  doctor  taking  his  place  in  Yezd 
exchanged  with  me,  as  it  was  hoped  that  my  wife 
would  be  able  better  to  stand  the  lower  altitude  of 
Yezd  than  the  heights  of  Kerman.  Yezd  is  an  island 
city  in  a  sea  of  sand.  The  waves,  driven  by  the  winds, 
surge  against  the  city  walls  and  threaten  to  engulf  the 
whole  place.  At  some  parts  of  the  wall,  the  drifted 
sand  reaches  almost  to  the  level  of  the  wall  itself. 

The  Governor  of  Yezd  during  the  time  we  lived 
there  was  H.R.H.  Jalal-el-Dowleh,  the  eldest  son  of 
the  Prince-Governor  of  Ispahan  (the  Zil-es-Sultan). 

1  By  Dr.  A.  Hume-Griffith. 
164 


MEDICAL    MISSION    WORK    IN    YEZD 

The  Jalal-el-Dowleh  had  the  reputation,  like  his 
father,  of  being  a  strong  man,  and  ruled  with  a  firm 
hand.  He  had  already  proved  a  good  friend  to  the 
Mission,  and  was  accustomed  to  pay  a  state  visit 
once  yearly  to  the  hospital,  where,  after  being  enter- 
tained at  the  doctor's  house,  he  would  proceed  to 
make  a  very  thorough  tour  of  inspection,  and  before 
leaving  would  hand  the  English  doctor  a  sealed 
envelope  containing  the  munificent  sum  of  £40  as  a 
donation.  During  our  stay  in  Yezd  we  saw  a  good 
deal  of  the  governor,  and  I  had  to  add  to  my  duties 
those  of  court  physician. 

In  Yezd,  as  in  other  Persian  cities,  there  are  many 
quacks,  who  not  unnaturally  resent  the  presence  of 
a  European  doctor.  I  had  not  been  long  in  the  city 
before  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  some  of  these 
gentry,  in  a  somewhat  dramatic  manner. 

Early  one  morning  I  was  hurriedly  called  to  the 
house  of  the  chief  native  doctor,  as  his  brother  had 
been  taken  seriously  ill. 

On  entering  the  patient's  room,  I  found  it  crowded 
with  his  friends,  the  patient  himself  lying  upon  a 
mattress  placed  on  the  ground.  One  glance  at  the 
patient  sufficed :  he  was  dead,  and  had  apparently 
been  so  for  some  hours.  When  I  announced  the  fact 
to  the  brother,  he  became  very  angry,  and  assured  me 
that  I  was  mistaken.  He  begged  me  to  pour  some 
medicine  down  the  man's  throat,  or  to  do  something 
to  rouse  him,  as  he  had  only  fainted ! 

Upon  further  inquiry,  I  found  that  he  had  been 
poorly  for  some  days,  and  his  brother  had  been  treat- 
ing him.  My  suspicions  were  aroused,  as  the  brother 

and  his  friends  crowded  round  me,  imploring  that 

165 


MEDICAL    MISSION   WORK    IN    YEZD 

English  medicines  should  be  tried,  and  after  further 
careful  examination  only  served  to  confirm  my  first 
opinion,  I  refused  absolutely  to  comply  with  their 
entreaties,  and  left  the  house  with  my  assistant. 
The  brother  and  some  of  his  friends  pursued  us, 
offering  large  fees  if  only  we  would  give  some 
medicine,  absolutely  refusing  to  accept  my  verdict. 
It  is  a  necessary  custom  in  Persia  and  the  East 
generally,  to  bury  a  dead  body  within  a  few  hours  of 
death,  but  we  heard  that  the  brother  refused  to  allow 
this  corpse  to  be  buried  for  three  whole  days,  alleging 
that  the  English  doctor  was  mistaken :  however,  in 
the  end  they  were  obliged  to  bury  him.  The  native 
doctor  was  strongly  suspected  of  having  poisoned  his 
brother,  and  this  doubtless  accounted  for  the  urgent 
manner  in  which  he  begged  me  to  pour  something 
down  the  dead  man's  throat,  so  that  he  could  accuse 
me  of  being  responsible  for  his  death. 

All  Persians  are  superstitious,  and  are  great 
believers  in  goblins  and  'jinns.'  One  day  a  young 
man  was  brought  to  me  suffering  from  an  acute 
attack  of  chorea  (St.  Vitus'  dance).  He  was  well 
educated,  and  had  been  employed  as  a  clerk  in  a 
merchant's  office :  now  he  was  unable  to  hold  a  pen 
in  his  hand,  and  exhibited  all  the  symptoms  of  the 
disease  in  a  very  marked  degree.  He  was  promptly 
admitted  to  hospital,  and  discharged  cured  in  a  few 
weeks.  According  to  his  own  statement  the  cause  of 
the  attack  was  as  follows.  He  had  gone  for  a  walk 
in  the  desert  outside  the  city  after  his  day's  work  was 
over,  and  had  wandered  on  further  than  usual.  Sud- 
denly he  came  across  an  old  well,  and  round  the  well 

were  numbers  of  hideous  dwarf-like  goblins  pelting 

166 


TYI-ES  OF  PERSIAN  JEWS 

The  Chief  Rabbi  at  Yezd  (sitting  in  ihe  centre).     This  photo  was  taken  in  the  author's  garden  at  Yezd. 


THE  WATER  SOUARK 


The  "  Maidawi  ob,"  or  water  square,  is  a  favourite  gathering-place  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
love  to  linger  round  the  edges  ot  the  water,  drinking  their  coffee,  striking  bargains,  an 
exchanging  news.  The  water  is  none  too  clean,  nor  the  odour  too  sweet  which  greets  the  sens< 


as  we  ride  by. 


•y 

and 

ises 


MEDICAL    MISSION   WORK    IN    YEZD 

each  other  with  stones.  When  they  saw  him  they 
crowded  round  laughing,  jeering,  pulling  his  clothes, 
and  then  began  to  pelt  him  with  stones.  He  turned 
and  fled,  running  the  whole  way  back  to  the  city, 
and  to  this  shock  he  attributed  the  commencement 
of  his  symptoms. 

In  my  last  chapter  I  referred  to  the  prevalence  of 
the  opium  habit  in  Kerman,  but  we  found  many  ad- 
dicted to  it  also  in  Yezd.  So  much  was  this  the  case, 
that  I  started  admitting  some  of  those  who  expressed  a 
desire  to  give  up  the  habit  into  the  hospital,  submitting 
them  to  a  special  treatment,  with  very  good  results. 
It  was  a  curious  sight  to  see  these  patients  grouped 
together  in  the  ward,  smoking  their  carefully  weighed 
out  amount  of  opium,  which  was  gradually  reduced 
day  by  day,  until  they  could  go  without  altogether. 

The  opium  habit  is  in  truth  a  curse,  but  upon  one 
occasion  I  really  believe  it  greatly  helped  to  save  a 
man's  life.  It  happened  in  this  way.  A  well-known 
merchant  in  Yezd  was  found  in  his  house  apparently 
sleeping.  His  women-folk,  unable  to  rouse  him,  be- 
came alarmed,  and  sent  for  me.  I  found  the  patient 
unconscious,  exhibiting  every  symptom  of  belladonna 
poisoning.  An  excited  crowd,  as  usual,  collected, 
watching  us  as  we  tried  every  possible  means  of 
saving  the  poor  fellow's  life.  Strychnine  and  morphia 
had  been  injected,  cold  water  poured  on  his  face,  all 
without  avail :  there  was  no  sign  of  returning  con- 
sciousness. A  happy  thought  struck  me.  Turning  to 
some  of  the  men  in  the  crowd,  I  asked  whether  they 
were  opium-smokers.  Three  or  four  somewhat 
shamefacedly  acknowledged  that  they  did  a  little, 
so  I  ordered  them  to  bring  a  pipe  and  a  little  of  the 

167 


MEDICAL    MISSION    AVORK    IN    YEZD 

drug.  Then  I  made  them  sit  round  the  patient's 
body,  take  the  pipe  in  turn,  and  as  they  smoked,  puff 
out  the  smoke  into  the  patient's  face,  occasionally 
blowing  it  into  his  nostrils,  and  down  his  throat.  I 
confess  that  I  had  but  little  hope  of  any  good  result, 
but  what  was  my  delight  and  surprise,  after  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  perseverance  in  the  treatment,  to 
see  unmistakable  signs  of  recovery  in  the  patient's 
face.  His  widely  dilated  pupils  began  to  contract, 
and  soon  he  returned  to  consciousness  and  was  able 
to  sit  up.  On  the  following  day  I  found  him  quite 
well,  and  thoroughly  enjoying  the  sensation  that  his 
marvellous  recovery  had  made  in  the  city.  Hundreds 
of  people  had  been  to  see  him,  and  I  am  a  little  afraid 
that  the  value  of  the  opium  as  a  "  cure-all  "  was  not 
diminished  by  the  incident  1 

We  had  quite  a  number  of  cataract  patients  in 
the  hospital,  many  coming  several  days'  journey  for 
operation.  A  small  hospital  for  women  had  been 
started,  and  a  lady  doctor  had  been  sent  to  take 
charge.  The  first  case  admitted  was  an  old  lady 
with  cataract.  When  the  day  arrived  for  the 
operation,  everything  went  well  at  first,  but  in  the 
middle  of  the  operation  the  patient  started  up  scream- 
ing. She  said  she  had  seen  a  snake,  and  she  thought 
it  was  going  to  bite  her.  Her  vision  cost  her  dearly, 
the  operation  necessarily  being  spoilt,  and  the  eye 
lost,  but  unfortunately  it  also  kept  away  other  patients 
suffering  from  the  same  disease,  but  only  for  a  short 
time,  the  lady  doctor  soon  winning  their  confidence, 
and  finding  more  work  on  her  hands  than  she  could 
comfortably  get  through. 

After  a  very  happy  year  in  Yezd,  my  wife's  health 

168 


MEDICAL    MISSION    WORK    IN    YEZD 

still  remaining  unsatisfactory,  we  were  obliged  to 
leave  Persia,  and  return  to  England  for  a  short  rest. 
Both  of  us  were  grieved  at  having  to  leave  a  country 
and  people  that  we  had  learnt  to  love,  and  amongst 
whom  we  had  hoped  to  spend  our  lives. 

Medical  Missions  in  Persia  have  already  worked 
wonders,  breaking  down  opposition,  winning  friends 
even  amongst  the  most  fanatical.  Here  is  not  the 
place  to  speak  of  results,  neither  would  it  be  wise  to 
do  so,  but  I  would  like  once  for  all  definitely  and 
decisively  to  repudiate  the  oft-quoted  statement, 
often  made,  unfortunately,  by  Christians  who  should 
be  better  informed,  "that  it  is  impossible  for  a 
Mohammedan  to  become  a  Christian."  With  God 
all  things  are  possible ! 


169 


PART    II 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CITY   OF   NINEVEH 

The  city  of  Nineveh — The  fast  of  Jonah — The  bridge  of  boats — Tradi- 
tions as  to  ancient  history  of  Mosul— Alkosh,  birthplace  of  Nahum 
the  prophet — Shurgat — Climate  of  Mosul — Cultivation  and  industries 
— Importance  of  Mosul. 

"  A  ruin,  yet  what  ruin !  from  its  mass 
Walls,  palaces,  half  cities  have  been  reared. 
Heroes  have  trod  this  spot — 'tis  on  their  dust  ye  tread." 

BYBON. 

"  Nineveh,  an  exceeding  great  city  of  three  days'  journey." 

THE  ancient  city  of  Nineveh,  the  former  capital  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire,  is  situated  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river  Tigris.  Little  is  to  be  seen  to- 
day of  the  once  famous  city  but  huge  mounds  of 
earth  which  cover  the  site  of  this  historical  and  in- 
teresting place.  There  are  two  principal  mounds, 
separated  from  each  other  by  a  small  rivulet.  The 
larger  of  these  is  called  Kouyunjik,  the  smaller 
Nabbi  Eunice.  The  former  contains  the  ruins  of 
the  palace  of  Sennacherib,  before  whom  Jonah  stood 
and  delivered  his  message ;  but  nothing  now  remains 
to  tell  of  its  former  glory  and  wealth.  When 
we  first  visited  the  spot  over  three  years  ago,  there 
was  one  huge  man-headed  lion  remaining,  and  a  few 
pieces  of  sculpture  representing  fish  swimming  in 
water,  &c.  But  now  even  these  have  disappeared, 
for  about  eighteen  months  ago  the  Turkish  Govern- 

173 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

ment  sold  all  the  visible  remains  of  Nineveh  for 
the  enormous  sum  of  two  Turkish  liras  (36s.) !  the 
buyer  grinding  everything  to  powder,  including  the 
huge  statue,  for  purposes  of  building  ! 

Nineveh  is  best  seen  to-day  at  the  British  Museum 
or  the  Louvre,  Paris,  as  both  of  these  places  contain 
many  interesting  and  valuable  remains  of  that  city. 
Nineveh  was  closed  to  excavators  about  four  years 
ago,  but  it  is  hoped  that  investigations  will  be  renewed 
again  in  the  near  future,  as  there  still  remain  thirteen 
rooms  of  the  palace  to  be  examined. 

The  other  and  smaller  mound,  known  as  Nabbi 
Eunice  (Prophet  Jonah),  was  once  the  site  of  a 
church  named  after  the  prophet,  on  account  of  the 
tradition  that  he  preached  upon  that  spot.  The 
church  stands  to  this  day,  but  is  used  as  a  mosque, 
as  it  now  belongs  to  the  Moslems,  who  venerate 
the  place  as  being  the  tomb  of  the  prophet. 

They  accept  the  whole  story  of  Jonah's  mission 
to  Nineveh  and  the  adventures  he  encountered  en 
route,  as  we  have  it  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture. 
It  is  an  interesting  fact,  too,  that  year  by  year  the 
inhabitants  of  Mosul,  Christians  and  Moslems  alike, 
keep  in  remembrance  the  three  days  of  fasting  and 
repentance  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Jonah.  The 
fast  is  still  kept  for  three  days,  by  some  very  strictly, 
while  others  keep  it  from  sunset  to  sunset,  only 
eating  once  a  day.  Every  one  may  please  herself  as 
to  the  severity  of  her  fasting,  but  almost  all  join  in 
the  remembrance  of  those  three  memorable  days  in 
the  history  of  Nineveh.  "  Herself"  is  used  advisedly, 
as  it  is  especially  kept  by  women  who  are  seeking 
some  particular  gift  from  God,  and  they  will  often  fast 

174 


absolutely  for  the  three  days,  not  even  allowing  a 
drop  of  water  to  touch  their  lips.  They  hope  by 
so  doing  that  God  will  hear  their  prayers,  even  as 
He  answered  the  petitions  of  the  Ninevites  of  old. 
The  memory  of  Jonah  is  perpetuated,  too,  in  Mosul 
by  parents  naming  their  boys  after  the  prophet, 
Eunice  being  quite  a  favourite  name  amongst  Chris- 
tians, Moslems,  and  Jews. 

The  tomb  of  Jonah  is  guarded  very  zealously  by 
the  Mohammedans  against  the  Christians,  and  it  is 
very  difficult  for  the  latter  to  gain  admission  to  the 
interior  of  the  building.  A  friend  staying  with  us 
in  Mosul  was  very  anxious  to  see  the  tomb,  so  we 
rode  over  to  Nabbi  Eunice  one  day,  but  the  mullah 
in  charge  politely  but  firmly  refused  us  permission 
to  enter  beyond  the  portal ! 

Kouyunjik  is  now  a  favourite  place  for  picnics 
from  Mosul,  and  in  the  early  spring  a  day  spent 
amongst  the  old  ruins  of  Nineveh  is  veiy  delightful. 
It  is  too  hot  in  summer,  as  there  is  no  shade.  From 
the  top  of  the  mounds  we  have  a  beautiful  view  of 
Mosul,  with  the  Tigris  in  the  foreground  and  the 
mountains  stretching  away  on  either  side.  It  is 
not  considered  safe  for  any  one  to  wander  about 
alone  on  the  mounds ;  the  natives  will  never  go 
there  alone  after  dusk.  Some  years  ago  two  Euro- 
peans who  were  passing  through  Mosul  visited 
Nineveh  by  themselves.  As  they  were  rambling 
over  the  old  remains,  one  said  to  his  companion, 
"  I  am  going  round  there,"  indicating  a  projecting 
piece  of  marble.  His  companion  waited  and  waited, 
and  as  his  friend  did  not  return  went  in  search  of 
him,  but  not  a  sign  of  him  could  be  seen.  After 

175 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

seeking  in  every  possible  place  without  success,  he 
returned  to  Mosul  to  institute  a  search  party,  but 
all  efforts  proved  fruitless,  and  to  this  day  nothing 
has  been  discovered  as  to  the  fate  of  this  man. 
Whether  he  fell  down  some  disused  shaft  or  was 
carried  off  by  Arabs  is  not  known,  and  probably  will 
always  remain  a  mystery. 

Mosul  is  connected  with  Nineveh  by  an  old 
bridge  of  boats,  which  probably  existed  in  the  days 
of  Jonah.  There  are  twenty-one  or  twenty-two 
of  these  old-fashioned  flat-bottomed  boats,- fastened 
together  by  heavy  chains,  a  platform  of  wood  being 
laid  from  boat  to  boat  and  the  whole  covered  with 
earth.  This  part  of  the  bridge  is  movable,  and  is 
connected  at  one  end  with  the  mainland  by  a  per- 
manent stone  bridge  consisting  of  thirty-three  arches. 
In  the  spring,  when  the  rush  of  water  is  very  strong 
consequent  upon  the  snow  melting  in  the  mountains, 
it  is  loosened  at  one  end  and  allowed  to  swing  with 
the  current.  Sometimes,  however,  the  river  rises 
suddenly,  carrying  the  bridge  away  and  playing 
havoc  with  the  banks.  When  this  takes  place  it 
is  very  difficult  to  replace  the  bridge.  Often  for 
weeks  together  the  bridge  is  not  open,  and  all  traffic 
across  the  river  has  to  be  conveyed  by  boats,  the 
owner  of  the  ferries  reaping  a  golden  harvest.  The 
toll  of  the  bridge  is  taken  by  a  man  who  rents  it 
from  the  Government.  He  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  Mosul.  Foot  passengers  are  allowed 
to  pass  freely,  but  all  four-footed  beasts  have  a  small 
charge  levied  on  them  ranging  from  a  halfpenny 
to  twopence,  and  carriages  are  charged  half  a  meji- 

deh  (Is.  8d.).     As  some  thousands  of  camels,  mules, 

176 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

and  donkeys  are  continually  passing  to  and  fro,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  the  toll-collector  is  a  rich  man. 

I  am  not  at  all  fond  of  riding  across  this  bridge ; 
it  is  not  very  wide,  and  camels  jostle  you  on  one 
side  with  their  huge  burdens,  donkeys  and  mules 
vie  with  each  other  in  trying  to  pass  on  the  other, 
quite  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no  room ; 
while  underneath  the  river  rushes  madly  on.  Alto- 
gether, I  always  heave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  the 
opposite  bank  is  safely  reached. 

There  are  many  traditions  as  to  the  probable 
origin  of  Mosul,  but  its  true  early  history  is  involved 
in  obscurity.  The  following  has  been  gleaned  from 
some  of  the  many  traditions  circulated  amongst  its 
inhabitants. 

Mosul  is  said  to  have  been  built  some  four  thou- 
sand years  ago,  and  was  then  a  small  village  consisting 
of  a  few  houses  built  of  mud.  This  village  was  be- 
lieved to  be  the  fourth  village  built  after  the  Flood. 
About  four  days' journey  from  Mosul  there  is  a  moun- 
tain called  Judy,  on  which  the  ark  is  supposed  to  have 
rested  after  the  Flood.  The  natives  living  near  this 
mountain  say  it  must  be  Mount  Ararat,  because  close 
by  grows  the  only  olive  tree  for  miles  around !  and 
also  they  have  in  their  possession  enormous  wooden 
nails  said  to  have  been  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  ark !  These  nails  were  found  on  the  mountain 
many  years  ago.  At  the  foot  of  this  mountain  lies  a 
village  which  claims  to  have  the  honour  of  being  the 
first  built  after  the  Flood.  Quite  near  by  is  another 
small  town  called  Jezirah,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
the  second  village  to  spring  into  existence,  while  some 
village  in  Egypt  takes  the  third  place,  and  Mosul  the 

177  M 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

fourth !     If  these  traditions  are  to  be  trusted,  then 
Mosul  has  indeed  a  right  to  be  termed  ancient. 

Some  1260  years  ago  Omar  el  Khattab  the 
Calipha  conquered  Jerusalem  and  Damascus,  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  Mosul.  He  sent  down 
one  of  his  chiefs  named  Eyath,  son  of  Ghoonum,  to 
besiege  Mosul,  with  orders  to  convert  the  city  to 
Mohammedanism  at  all  costs,  if  necessary  at  the 
point  of  the  sword.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  at  that 
time  were  Parsees,  belonging  to  the  old  fire-worship- 
ping religion  ;  others  were  called  "  Charamika,"  but 
no  trace  of  their  belief  has  been  found.  These  and 
many  others  were  converted  to  Mohammedanism  by 
the  strong  argument  of  the  sword. 

In  the  twelfth  century  Mosul  had  a  sovereignty 
of  its  own,  a  brother  of  the  Sultan  of  Damascus  then 
reigning  over  this  province.  In  1180  it  withstood  the 
armies  of  the  famous  Saladin,  who  was  a  native  of  a 
town  some  five  days'  ride  from  Mosul.  In  the  thir- 
teenth and  fourteenth  centuries  it  suffered  defeat  from 
the  hands  of  its  enemies,  and  in  1743  Nadir  Shah  of 
Persia  bombarded  the  town  for  forty  days.  Since 
then  Mosul  has  suffered  much  from  time  to  time 
through  various  causes — from  the  cruelties  of  some 
of  its  governors,  from  a  famine  caused  by  the  crops 
being  utterly  destroyed  by  locusts,  and  also  from  the 
plague  which  visited  it  in  1831  and  left  the  town 
almost  a  desert.  It  is  stated  that  100,000  people 
perished  at  that  time  from  this  terrible  scourge. 

The  walls  surrounding  Mosul  are  very  old.  They 
were  built,  in  the  first  instance,  about  2000  years  ago 
by  a  man  named  Marvan,  one  of  the  kings  of  a  tribe 
called  "  Umayya."  They  were  repaired  170  years  ago 

178 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

by  Hadji  Hussein  Pasha,  one  of  the  Abdul  Jaleel 
family.  They  are  now  in  many  places  fast  falling 
into  ruin,  and  are  in  great  need  of  restoration.  These 
walls  are  pierced  by  about  twelve  gates,  which  are 
shut  at  sunset  or  soon  after. 

About  five  hours'  journey  from  Mosul  is  the  little 
village  of  Elkosh,  believed  by  many  to  have  been  the 
birthplace  of  the  prophet  Nahum,  and  also  the  scene 
of  his  life-work  and  burial.  This  village,  now  in- 
habited by  Chaldeans,  is  reverenced  by  Moslems  and 
Christians  alike,  but  more  especially  is  it  looked  upon 
as  a  holy  place  by  the  Jews.  There  is  a  synagogue 
in  which  is  supposed  to  lie  the  tomb  of  the  prophet ; 
to  this  the  Jews  flock  for  the  yearly  pilgrimage, 
having  done  so  from  time  immemorial. 

Kalah  Shurgat  is  another  interesting  place,  situated 
two  days'  journey  from  Mosul.  It  consists  of  an  old 
Assyrian  ruin,  said  to  be  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
city  of  Asshur.  The  Germans  have  been  excavating 
there  for  some  years,  and  are  doing  it  very  thoroughly. 
The  whole  ground  floor  of  the  palace  and  temple  are 
laid  bare,  and  are  in  a  wonderful  state  of  preservation. 
One  of  the  excavators  pointed  out  to  us  the  "  bath- 
room" of  the  palace,  running  through  which  was  a 
mono-rail,  evidently  having  been  constructed  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  water  from  the  reservoir  to  the 
bath.  This  tram-line  must  have  been  one  of  the 
first  ever  invented !  It  was  simply  a  groove  cut  in 
the  marble  floor,  on  which  probably  a  one-wheeled 
trolley  ran. 

The  climate  of  Mosul  is  a  very  variable  one,  the 
summers  being  excessively  hot  and  the  winters  cold. 

During  the  hot  months  all  the  inhabitants  sleep  at 

179 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

night  on  their  roofs,  starting  about  the  1st  of  June, 
and  continuing  to  do  so  for  five  months,  or  till  the 
first  rains  come.  Many  of  the  houses  are  provided 
with  "  sirdabs  "  or  underground  rooms,  for  use  during 
the  middle  part  of  the  day.  The  marble  from  which 
most  of  the  houses  are  built  retains  the  heat  of  the  sun 
so  long  that  they  do  not  cool  down  in  the  evenings ; 
on  account  of  this,  as  the  summer  wears  on,  the  houses 
become  almost  unbearable  with  accumulated  heat. 
For  this  reason  we  generally  try  to  go  away  some- 
where for  a  month's  holiday  in  August  or  September. 
There  are  no  cool  places  near  Mosul,  and  to  find  a 
suitable  summer  retreat  it  is  necessary  to  go  three  or 
four  days'  journey.  For  two  years  we  only  went  to 
a  large  house  about  three  miles  from  Mosul,  kindly 
lent  us  by  a  patient  of  my  husband's.  Here  the  heat 
was  intense  during  the  day,  but  the  evenings  were 
delightfully  cool  as  a  rule,  for  the  river  ran  at  the 
foot  of  the  garden. 

The  winters  in  Mosul  are  often  very  cold.  Two 
years  ago  the  Tigris  was  nearly  frozen  over,  and  for 
three  days  the  only  water  we  could  obtain  was  from 
melted  snow.  The  cold  was  so  severe  that  men  died 
as  they  sat  at  their  work.  While  such  cold  weather 
lasted  it  was  impossible  to  keep  the  patients  in  the 
hospital,  as  having  no  stoves  in  the  wards  we  were 
not  able  to  warm  them  sufficiently.  But  this  was  a 
record  winter,  there  having  been  no  such  frost  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Spring  and  autumn  are  beautiful  seasons  in  Mosul, 
especially,  perhaps,  the  former.  During  March,  April, 
and  part  of  May  the  land  for  many  miles  around 

Mosul  is  green  with  waving  corn — a  refreshing  sight 

180 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

for  weary  eyes.  When  the  grass  is  about  a  foot  in 
height,  all  the  inhabitants  pitch  tents  outside  the 
town  and  spend  their  days  there.  Those  who  have 
horses  tether  them  in  front  of  their  tents,  and  allow 
them  to  eat  grass  to  their  hearts'  content.  A  friend 
lent  us  a  tent  last  year,  and  for  a  month  or  six  weeks 
we  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  green  scenery !  Every  day 
some  of  our  congregation  were  able  to  get  out,  each 
of  us  taking  our  turn  at  providing  afternoon  tea.  It 
was  such  a  relief  to  get  away  from  the  heat  of  the 
city  walls,  and  to  enjoy,  if  only  for  a  short  time,  the 
lovely  fresh  air  of  the  corn-fields  ! 

The  autumn  days  are  very  pleasant  too,  but  as  a 
rule  this  season  is  only  too  short.  The  summers  last 
till  the  rains  begin,  and  then  almost  at  once  cold 
weather  sets  in.  The  most  trying  part  of  the  whole 
year  comes  towards  the  end  of  summer,  when  the 
clouds  "  come  up."  It  is  very  marvellous  the  way 
the  natives  can  tell,  almost  to  a  day,  when  to  expect 
the  first  clouds.  They  generally  last  from  ten  to 
twelve  days,  and  the  relief  is  great  when  they  depart. 
On  the  whole  the  climate  of  Mosul  seems  to  be  a 
healthy  one.  At  certain  times  of  the  year  malarial 
fever  is  very  prevalent,  but,  "  alhamd'llillah  !  "  neither 
of  us  have  ever  contracted  it. 

The  highest  degree  of  heat  registered  in  the 
coolest  part  of  our  house  is  110°,  but  the  average 
heat  of  the  three  hottest  months  is  about  98°  to  105°. 

Three  to  four  months  of  this  kind  of  heat  is 
generally  quite  enough ! 

The  land  round  Mosul  is  cultivated  to  a  great 
extent,  corn  being  the  chief  product.  The  success  of 

the  crops,  however,  is  entirely  dependent  upon  the 

181 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

winter  and  spring  rains.  Should  the  rainfall  be 
great,  the  harvest  is  abundant ;  but  if  the  season  is  a 
dry  one,  then  the  result  is  disastrous.  Mr.  Layard 
speaks  of  one  such  occasion  when,  during  the  whole 
of  the  winter  and  spring,  no  rain  fell.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  this,  the  crop  failed  and  famine  ravaged 
the  land.  This  famine  is  still  spoken  of  in  Mosul  as 
something  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  many  events 
are  marked  as  dating  from  "  the  famine."  Some  are 
not  ashamed  to  own  that  they  made  their  fortunes 
during  that  awful  time,  by  storing  corn  and  then 
selling  it  at  famine  prices ;  while  others,  who  had 
been  prosperous  merchants  till  that  year,  were  then 
rendered  penniless,  and  have  never  been  able  to 
retrieve  their  fortunes.  There  are  a  few  rude  wheels 
constructed  along  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  for  the 
purpose  of  irrigation ;  but  as  these  are  highly  taxed 
by  the  local  government,  they  are  by  no  means 
general.  This  mode  of  raising  water  is  very  simple 
but  expensive,  as  it  requires  the  labour  of  several 
men  and  at  least  two  animals,  either  oxen  or  mules. 

Gardens  near  the  town  are  irrigated  in  this  way, 
either  by  drawing  water  from  the  river  or  from  deep 
wells,  but  the  great  stretch  of  land  sown  with  corn 
is  dependent  for  its  nourishment  on  the  rainfall. 

Cotton  is  also  grown  and  exported.  Melons, 
cucumbers,  and  tomatoes  are  cultivated  very  largely, 
and  as  the  river  recedes  in  the  summer,  the  moist 
bed  is  sown  with  water-melon  seeds,  which  flourish 
splendidly  in  the  damp  soil. 

Fruit  is  largely  grown  in  the  mountains,  and 
brought  down  on  donkeys.  Apricots  are  very  abun- 
dant ;  cherries,  plums,  peaches  are  less  plentiful. 

182 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

The  best  apples  are  brought  from  Damascus;  they 
look  good,  but  are  flavourless.  Grapes  are  very 
largely  cultivated,  and  are  brought  to  great  perfec- 
tion. The  large  black  kind  are  very  delicious  ;  there 
is  also  a  white  grape  which  has  a  very  sweet  flavour. 
Vegetables  of  all  kinds  are  grown  in  the  gardens 
near  Mosul :  beans,  peas,  spinach,  carrots  (red), 
beetroot,  onions,  artichokes,  as  well  as  many  other 
varieties.  Potatoes  are  brought  from  Persia,  and 
sometimes  suffer  so  much  from  the  long  journey 
that  they  are  only  fit  to  be  thrown  away  when  they 
reach  Mosul.  Last  winter  several  hundreds  of  sacks 
of  potatoes  were  thrown  into  the  river  at  Mosul, 
as  they  had  been  frostbitten  on  the  journey  from 
Persia,  and  so  were  useless. 

"  Manna "  is  found  in  the  mountains,  and  is 
collected  and  sent  to  Mosul,  where  it  is  made  into 
a  sweetmeat  called  "  halawwi." 

The  industries  of  Mosul  are  chiefly  spinning  and 
weaving.  A  very  strong  kind  of  cotton  cloth  is 
woven,  also  calico  and  woollen  goods.  Many  years 
ago  this  industry  was  much  larger  than  it  is  at 
present,  and  in  those  days  Mosul  gave  its  name  to 
muslin,  a  fabric  exported  by  the  French  from  that 
town  in  the  last  century.  Weaving  is  done  by  men, 
while  the  women  do  the  spinning  and  dyeing  of  the 
cotton  or  wool.  Weaving  is  a  very  favourite  occu- 
pation, as  the  weaver  can  do  just  as  much  or  as 
little  as  he  likes,  being  paid  accordingly.  For  this 
reason  a  man  who  is  inclined  to  be  lazy  would 
much  rather  be  a  weaver  than  a  servant. 

Furs  are  largely  exported  from  Mosul.  The  skin 
of  the  fox  is  most  common,  but  there  is  another  fur 

183 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

much  resembling  the  sable  which  is  highly  prized 
amongst  the  natives,  a  coat  lined  with  this  fur 
costing  something  like  £50.  Some  years  ago  furs 
could  be  bought  quite  cheaply  in  Mosul,  but  the 
merchants  finding  a  good  market  for  their  goods 
in  Europe,  the  prices  soon  went  up,  and  now  even 
fox  is  becoming  expensive. 

The  industries  of  Mosul  are  not  what  they  were, 
but  we  trust  better  days  are  coming,  when  the  old 
prosperity  of  the  town  will  be  renewed  and  in- 
creased. 

The  three  great  questions  now  under  considera- 
tion with  regard  to  the  land  of  Mesopotamia  will 
have  great  influence  on  the  future  of  Mosul.  The 
first  is  the  navigation  of  the  Tigris  from  Baghdad 
to  Mosul.  This,  when  an  accomplished  fact,  will 
make  a  great  difference  in  the  export  and  import 
trade  of  the  city.  The  Baghdad  railway  will  also 
greatly  increase  the  importance  of  Mosul,  for  the 
line  running  through  it  will  bring  the  East  in  close 
touch  with  the  near  West.  Perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant subject  of  all  in  connection  with  the  future 
of  Mosul  is  that  of  the  irrigation  of  Mesopotamia, 
which,  once  accomplished,  will  turn  the  whole  of 
that  vast  desert  into  a  garden.  The  means  to  be 
employed  for  this  end  are  simply  the  reviving  of 
the  old  Assyrian  method  of  irrigation.  This  method 
consisted  in  the  digging  of  canals  to  intersect  the 
land  between  the  rivers  Tigris  and  Euphrates. 
Maps  of  these  same  canals  are  still  to  be  seen  in 
the  British  Museum  and  other  places,  and  are  of 
great  interest.  These  great  canals,  made  in  the 

prosperous  days  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  are  now 

184 


THE    CITY    OF    NINEVEH 

choked  up,  after  having  been  in  use  for  many  cen- 
turies by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  Layard, 
in  his  "  Discoveries  at  Nineveh,"  says,  "  Herodotus 
describes  the  extreme  fertility  of  Assyria  and  its 
abundant  harvests  of  corn,  the  seed  producing  two 
and  three  hundred-fold " ;  and  adds  later,  "  But  in 
his  day  the  Assyrians  depended  as  much  upon  arti- 
ficial irrigation  as  upon  the  winter  rains.  They 
were  skilful  in  constructing  machines  for  raising 
water,  and  their  system  of  canals  was  as  remarkable 
for  its  ingenuity  as  for  the  knowledge  of  hydraulics 
it  displayed."  Since  the  result  of  irrigation  in  those 
ancient  days  was  two  to  three  hundred-fold,  surely 
if  carried  out  to-day  with  the  additional  knowledge 
of  modern  science  and  experience  the  ground  would 
yield  an  even  larger  return.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  £8,000,000  would  be  sufficient  to  reopen  all  the 
old  canals  of  Mesopotamia,  with  the  certainty  that 
the  land  thus  irrigated  would  yield  an  abundant 
profit. 

"  Ensha'allah,"  this  much-talked-of  scheme  will 
soon  be  carried  out,  and  Mesopotamia  become  once 
more  "  a  land  of  corn  and  wine,  a  land  of  bread  and 
vineyards,  a  land  of  olive  oil  and  of  honey." 


185 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   PEOPLE   OF   MOSUL 

Population  —  Moslems  —  Christians  —  Chaldeans  —  Nestorians  —  Jacobites 
—  Arabs  —  Kurds  —  Jews  —  Yezidees  —  Recreations  —  Warfare  of  the 
slingers  —  Hammam  Ali  —  The  recreation  ground  of  Mosul  men  and 
women. 

"...  The  world  is  great, 
But  each  has  but  his  own  land  in  the  world." 

A.  C.  SWINBURNE. 

THE  population  of  Mosul  has  been  estimated  to 
be  anything  between  sixty  and  eighty  thousand 
people.  If  the  whole  "vilayet"  is  included  the 
number  will  be  something  like  a  million  and  a  half. 
These  people  are  made  up  of  many  different  nation- 
alities and  tribes,  each  retaining  its  own  leading 
characteristics,  whilst  many  have  a  language  peculiar 
to  themselves. 

The  inhabitants  of  Mosul  are  chiefly  Arabs,  of 
whom  by  far  the  larger  part  are  Mohammedans. 
These  of  course  form  the  strong  religious  element 
in  the  city,  as  they  are  the  conquerors  of  the  land. 
This  is  a  fact,  too,  which  they  take  care  never  to 
lose  sight  of.  In  the  market,  the  mosque,  and  the 
street,  the  Mohammedan  is  always  proclaiming  by 
look,  word,  and  deed  that  he  is  the  master.  A 
Christian  finds  himself  at  a  great  disadvantage  in 
the  market,  for  when  buying  from  a  Moslem  he  is 
not  allowed  to  handle  the  food,  and  must  purchase 
his  goods  to  a  great  extent  on  trust. 

186 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

In  all  mosques,  which  once  were  Christian 
churches,  it  is  customary  for  the  mullah  to  preach 
with  a  naked  sword  in  his  hand.  This  is  done  in 
order  to  remind  the  people  that  the  Mohammedan 
religion  was  propagated  by  the  sword,  and  must,  if 
necessary,  be  retained  by  the  same  means.  In  the 
streets  the  difference  is  very  marked  between  the 
two,  the  Mohammedan  behaving  as  if  the  whole 
place  belonged  to  him,  while  the  Christians,  and 
more  especially  the  Jews,  always  appear  as  if  they 
were  apologising  for  their  very  existence. 

The  Moslems  are  the  rulers,  and  they  make  their 
power  felt.  An  amusing  instance  illustrating  this 
feeling  occurred  a  short  time  ago.  A  little  Moslem 
boy  was  walking  through  the  street  on  his  way  to 
our  house  when,  apparently  without  any  provoca- 
tion, a  Christian  girl  began  to  revile  him  as  he 
passed.  The  boy  instantly  turned  on  the  girl  and 
gave  her  a  thrashing.  I  did  not  hear  anything  of 
this  for  some  days,  and  then  only  in  an  indirect  way. 
Some  one  told  me  that  the  boy  had  received  a  severe 
beating  from  the  master  of  the  school  which  he  was 
attending,  and  on  asking  the  reason  of  the  punish- 
ment was  told  the  foregoing  story.  I  am  very  fond 
of  the  boy,  he  is  such  a  dear,  bright  little  chap,  with 
great  wondering  eyes.  Upon  hearing  the  history 
of  his  encounter  with  the  girl,  I  sent  for  the  boy, 
and  tried  to  tell  him  how  wrong  it  was  for  a  man 
to  strike  a  woman.  "  But,"  said  the  boy,  quite  in- 
nocently, "  she  was  a  Christian ! "  Thus  early  in 
life  is  instilled  into  the  young  mind  of  the  Moslem 
his  inherent  right  to  act  the  tyrant. 

On   the   other   hand,   it  is  a  strange  truth  that 

187 


Moslems  very  often  prefer  to  have  Christian  servants 
in  their  houses,  as  they  find  they  are  more  faithful. 
In  many  hareems  the  "  slaves,"  or  girls  who  have 
been  bought  for  life,  are  very  often  children  of 
Christian  parents,  who  have  been  willing  for  a  few 
pounds  to  sell  their  girls.  The  reverse  of  this  is 
also  true,  that  Christian  families  often  find  that  a 
Moslem  servant  is  more  trustworthy  than  one  of 
their  own  religion.  A  few  months  ago  I  heard  of  a 
little  black  boy  in  Mosul,  whose  mother,  a  Moslem 
negress,  was  anxious  to  find  him  a  home.  We 
offered  to  take  the  boy  and  bring  him  up,  but 
the  mother  absolutely  refused  our  offer,  as  we  were 
Christians,  and  she  was  afraid  her  boy  might  be- 
come the  same,  as  he  was  then;  only  one  year  old, 
and  had  not  yet  learnt  to  hate  the  Christians  ! 

There  are  some  15,000  to  20,000  Christians  in 
Mosul,  who  are  said  to  date  their  conversion  back 
to  the  time  of  St.  Adday,  who  was  a  disciple  of 
St.  Thomas ;  others  migrated  from  Baghdad  to 
Mosul  at  the  time  of  the  Caliphas.  These  Chris- 
tians have  remained  firm  to  the  religion  of  their 
forefathers  in  spite  of  much  persecution  and  many 
trials.  To-day  in  Mosul  there  are  many  different 
sects  of  Christians  to  be  found,  viz.  the  Chaldean, 
Syrian,  Nestorian,  Jacobite,  Armenian,  and  Greek. 
The  Chaldeans  in  Mosul  now  entirely  belong  to 
the  Romish  Church,  having  been  admitted  to  that 
body  about  a  hundred  years  ago  by  means  of  the 
Dominican  Mission  who  started  work  amongst  these 
ancient  Christians.  They  have  their  own  bishop 
and  archbishop,  the  Patriarch  making  Mosul  his 

headquarters  since  1256. 

188 


1 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

The  Nestorians  are  the  true  Chaldeans,  and  repu- 
diate the  name  Nestorian.  They  live  amongst  the 
mountains,  have  resisted  all  efforts  of  the  Romish 
Church,  and  remain  true  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
They,  in  common  with  the  other  Christians,  date 
their  Christianity  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles  as 
the  converts  of  St.  Thomas.  They  refuse  to  accept 
Nestorius,  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  as  their 
founder,  saying  that  he  was  a  Greek,  while  they 
were  Syrians.  They  assert  that  "  he  did  not  even 
know  our  language,  and  so  how  could  he  have  pro- 
pagated his  doctrines  among  us  ? "  and  they  also 
declare  that  their  religion  was  an  established  fact 
long  before  Nestorius  was  born.  They  have  their 
own  Patriarch,  who  resides  near  Van,  a  distance  of 
ten  days  from  Mosul.  They  regard  the  Pope  and 
his  followers  with  feelings  of  great  hatred,  and  are 
said  to  curse  him  and  his  forefathers  regularly  every 
day.  In  answer  to  a  message  from  the  Pope  urging 
reconciliation  with  Rome,  the  Patriarch  sent  the 
following  answer :  "  I  shall  never  become  a  Roman 
Catholic,  and  should  you  ever  induce  my  people 
to  do  so,  I  would  sooner  become  a  dervish  or  a 
mullah  than  degrade  myself  by  an  alliance  with 
the  Pope." 

The  Patriarch  of  the  Nestorians  is  not  allowed 
to  marry ;  he  is  also  compelled  to  be  a  strict  vege- 
tarian. When  it  is  thought  advisable  to  nominate 
a  successor  to  the  archbishopric,  the  wife  of  a 
near  relative  (if  possible,  a  brother)  of  the  then 
Patriarch  is  chosen  as  the  possible  mother  of  the 
future  dignitary.  She  is  set  apart  as  holy  till  the 
birth  of  her  child,  her  diet  meanwhile  being  strictly 

189 


THE    PEOPLE    OF:  MOSUL 

vegetarian.  If  the  child  proves  to  be  a  boy,  he  is 
solemnly  dedicated  to  God  from  his  birth,  and  is 
never  allowed  to  touch  meat  or  flesh  of  any  kind. 
Should  the  child  unfortunately  be  a  girl,  the  choice 
has  to  be  made  again,  and  great  is  the  disappoint- 
ment of  the  mother,  the  honour  of  being  the 
mother  of  a  Patriarch  being  much  coveted  and 
prized. 

In  1843  these  people  suffered  a  terrible  massacre 
at  the  hands  of  the  Kurds ;  10,000  of  them  are  said 
to  have  perished,  and  after  being  hunted  from  place 
to  place  the  Patriarch  finally  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
English  Consulate  at  Mosul. 

The  Jacobite  section  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
Mosul  is  a  small  one,  and  so  far  remains  firm  to  its 
old  faith,  resisting  all  attempts  by  the  Church  of 
Rome  to  effect  a  union.  It,  too,  has  its  own 
bishop  in  Mosul,  but  the  Patriarch  resides  in  Mar- 
din,  where  he  has  many  thousands  of  adherents. 
He  pays  periodical  visits  to  his  scattered  flock  in 
Mosul  and  the  surrounding  country.  They  trace 
the  origin  of  their  name  to  one  Jacob  Baradceus, 
a  Reformer  who  arose  in  the  sixth  century,  and 
refusing  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  other  Syrians  in 
joining  the  Romish  Church,  continued  in  the  old 
faith,  which  has  since  been  called  by  his  name  (an 
alternative  name  being  the  Old  Syrian  Church). 

The  population  of  Mosul  also  consists  of  Arabs, 
Kurds,  Yezidees,  and  Jews. 

The  Arabs  are  the  original  inhabitants  of  the 
desert,  who  date  their  descent  back  to  the  time  of 
Shem,  the  son  of  Noah.  They  are  divided  into 

many  tribes,  of  which  the  most  important  in  Meso- 

190 


THE    PEOPLE;  OF    MOSUL 

potumia  is  that  of  the  great  Shammar  clan,  who 
are  to  be  found  in  all  parts.  There  are  three  classes 
of  Arabs,  namely,  those  who  have  settled  down  in 
one  place  and  become  town  Arabs,  such  as  the  in- 
habitants of  Mosul :  the  wandering  tribes  of  the 
desert  or  Bedouins,  who  live  in  tents  and  whose 
occupation  is  sheep  farming :  a  third  class  of  Arabs 
are  the  robbers  of  the  desert,  who  subsist  solely  by 
plunder,  and  roam  the  desert  seeking  for  a  livelihood 
by  any  means  that  may  come  to  their  hand.  The 
wandering  tribes  find  it  very  hard  to  settle  down 
to  a  fixed  abode  after  the  free  life  of  the  desert,  and 
they  prefer  often  to  suffer  pain  and  inconvenience 
rather  than  spend  a  few  days  or  weeks  beneath  a 
roof  and  within  the  walls  of  a  hospital. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  Bedouin  lady  of  the  seventh 
century,  whose  husband  rose  afterwards  to  be  one 
of  the  Caliphs.  When  taken  to  Damascus  to  live 
in  luxury  and  state,  she  pined  for  the  freedom  of 
the  desert,  and  gave  utterance  to  her  loneliness  in 
the  following  verses  : — 

"  A  tent  with  rustling  breezes  cool 

Delights  me  more  than  palace  high, 
And  more  the  cloak  of  simple  wool 
Than  robes  in  which  I  learned  to  sigh. 

The  crust  I  ate  beside  my  tent 

Was  more  than  this  fine  bread  to  me ; 

The  wind's  voice  where  the  hill-path  went 
Was  more  than  tambourine  can  be."  l 

Arab  women  have  come  to  the  hospital  from  time 
to  time,  but  they  always  long  to   return   to  their 

1  Extract  from  "  The  Literary  History  of  the  Arabs,"  by  B.  A.  Nichol- 
son, M.A. 

191 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

desert  life,  and  are  impatient  at   the   restraints  of 
town  life. 

The  Kurds  are  a  warlike  people  inhabiting  the 
mountains  round  Mosul.  They  are  the  descendants 
of  the  wild  people  of  the  mountains  mentioned  by 
Xenophon  as  the  Karduchi,  who  so  severely  harassed 
the  Greeks  during  their  retreat.  In  later  years  they 
were  known  as  the  Parthians,  who  opposed  the 
Romans.  From  this  people  came  the  celebrated 
Saladin,  the  opponent  of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  in 
the  crusading  days.  The  Kurds  have  been  com- 
pared to  the  old  Scottish  Highlanders,  who  were 
noted  for  their  devotion  to  their  chiefs.  A  well- 
known  writer,  in  speaking  of  this  trait  in  the 
character  of  these  people,  says  that  once  he  heard 
the  following  story :  "  A  chieftain  having  died,  one 
of  his  followers,  who  was  standing  on  the  roof  of 
his  house  when  the  news  of  his  master's  death  was 
brought  to  him,  exclaimed,  '  What !  is  the  Beg 
dead  ?  Then  I  will  not  live  another  moment,'  and 
immediately  threw  himself  from  the  roof  and  was 
dashed  to  pieces." 

A  few  of  these  Kurds  are  Nestorians,  but  the 
majority  of  them  are  Moslems,  and  are  a  very 
fierce-looking  set  of  people.  They  carry  as  a  rule 
large  daggers  in  the  waistband,  and  are  quite 
capable  of  using  them  when  necessary.  We  once 
had  a  servant  who  was  a  Kurd,  and  although  as  a 
rule  a  peaceable  man,  he  often  longed  to  be  off 
when  he  heard  of  any  fighting  going  on  in  his 
country.  He  used  to  boast  to  the  other  servants 
of  the  many  people  he  had  robbed  and  murdered  ! 
but  said  of  course  he  would  never  harm  us,  as  we 

192 


MUTRAV  PAULUS 

Bishop  of  the  Syrian  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Mosul. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

were  in  the  place  of  father  and  mother  to  him. 
We  are  quite  hoping  to  secure  his  services  again 
on  our  return  to  Mosul. 

There  are  about  two  thousand  Jews  in  Mosul,  who 
date  their  descent  from  the  time  of  the  Captivity. 
When  Cyrus  issued  his  decree  allowing  all  Jews  to 
return  to  their  native  land,  about  fifty  thousand  of 
those  living  in  Mesopotamia  joyfully  availed  them- 
selves of  this  permission,  but  a  few  preferred  to 
remain  in  their  adopted  land,  and  their  descendants 
are  there  to  this  day.  In  spite  of  much  persecution, 
they  have  remained  firm  in  their  belief.  Mohammed 
quite  hoped  at  first  that  the  Jews  would  easily  be 
converted  to  Mohammedanism.  He  therefore  in- 
structed all  his  followers  to  turn  their  faces  towards 
the  temple  at  Jerusalem  when  praying,  but  before 
many  months  he  saw  that  his  hopes  in  this  direc- 
tion were  doomed  to  disappointment.  He  therefore 
withdrew  his  former  instructions,  and  ordained  that 
in  future  all  Mohammedans  should  turn  to  the 
Ka'aba  at  Mecca  when  engaged  in  prayer. 

The  Jews  in  Mosul  are  looked  down  upon  and 
despised  by  Christian  and  Moslem  alike.  In  the 
dispensary  it  is  sad  to  see  with  what  loathing  the 
Jews  are  treated.  The  scornful  way  in  which  the 
word  "  Yahudi "  (Jew)  is  hurled  at  these  people  is 
enough  to  make  one's  heart  ache  for  them.  If 
there  is  anything  degrading  to  be  done,  a  Jew  is 
the  only  one  to  be  found  willing  to  do  it.  The 
Jews  are  the  shoe-blacks  of  Mosul.  It  being  con- 
sidered very  degrading  to  clean  boots  and  shoes, 
the  Jew  undertakes  this  task,  receiving  payment  at 
the  rate  of  about  Jd.  a  pair. 

193  N 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

It  is  a  wonderful  sight  to  see  all  these  different 
nationalities — Moslems,  Christians,  Jews,  Kurds, 
Arabs,  Devil  Worshippers — all  sitting  down  to- 
gether in  the  waiting-room  of  the  dispensary  while 
waiting  their  turn  to  see  the  doctor. 

It  reminds  one  of  the  picture  of  Peace,  in  which 
the  artist  depicts  the  lion,  the  leopard,  and  the  wolf 
living  in  harmony  with  the  lamb.  I  am  afraid  the 
resemblance  is  only  superficial,  for  in  the  hearts  of 
that  rude  miscellaneous  throng  there  is  little  of  peace, 
and  much  of  anger,  wrath,  jealousy,  hatred,  and 
murder. 

The  dwellers  in  the  desert  and  mountain  would 
scorn  the  idea  of  passing  the  time  in  recreations  of 
any  kind,  but  the  town  gentlemen  much  enjoy  a 
little  relaxation  from  their  arduous  (?)  labours. 
Riding  and  racing  are  much  in  vogue  in  Mosul. 
Just  outside  one  of  the  gates  is  a  long,  level  stretch 
of  land,  uncultivated,  which  is  used  by  the  sporting 
part  of  the  population  for  racing.  Betting  is  not 
a  part  of  the  programme.  Any  one  who  possesses 
a  horse  is  at  liberty  to  enter  it  for  the  races ;  and 
every  Thursday  afternoon  a  large  conclave  of  people 
may  be  seen  watching  the  performance  with  great 
interest.  Horse  dealers  who  have  horses  for  sale 
race  their  animals  with  the  hope  that  they  will  carry 
off  the  palm,  in  which  case  the  value  of  the  horse 
is  considerably  raised. 

A  few  of  the  Mosul  men  go  in  for  hunting,  but 
it  is  not  a  favourite  pastime.  My  husband  some- 
times goes  with  some  of  the  Begs,  who  are  fond 
of  hawking.  The  boys  much  enjoy  slinging,  and 
some  of  them  are  quite  experts  at  it,  at  times  their 

194 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

aim  being  rather  too  accurate.  The  spring  is  the 
season  for  slinging,  and  hundreds  of  boys  may  be 
seen  outside  the  town  on  a  fine  day  armed  with 
these  instruments  of  torture.  They  line  up  along 
the  walls  of  the  city,  and  take  aim  at  every  passer- 
by. This  is  somewhat  disconcerting,  especially 
when  some  little  boy  takes  a  shot  at  your  horse's 
head  or  tail,  a  game  of  which  the  animal  does  not 
at  all  approve.  Or  sometimes  the  boys  form  armies, 
each  opposing  side  being  composed  of  an  equal 
number  of  slingers.  They  stand  at  a  distance  of 
about  fifty  yards  apart  and  commence  warfare  in 
real  earnest.  It  is  rather  a  terrible  ordeal  to  have 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  these  two  opposing  armies. 
The  stones  seem  to  whizz  round  one's  head  in  a 
most  alarming  manner;  but  although  my  mare  has 
received  a  few  stray  shots  of  which  she  much  dis- 
approved, yet  I  have  fortunately  never  actually  been 
hit.  Occasionally  boys  become  so  vicious  in  their 
excitement  that  the  Government  here  has  to  put  a 
stop  to  their  "  wars  "  for  a  time,  as  they  do  so  much 
injury  to  one  another. 

A  form  of  recreation  which  is  indulged  in  by 
all  the  Mosul  people  is  that  of  paying  a  yearly  visit 
to  a  hot  sulphur  spring.  This  spring  is  situated 
about  twelve  miles  from  Mosul  on  the  Baghdad  road, 
and  is  called  Hammam  Ali. 

A  small  village  has  grown  up  around  the  spring, 
but  cannot  furnish  anything  like  the  accommodation 
needed  for  the  thousands  of  visitors  who  flock  there 
in  the  early  summer.  To  meet  this  need,  small 
booths  are  built  of  dried  grass,  each  family  renting 
one  for  the  time  of  their  visit.  Two  years  ago  it 

195 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    MOSUL 

was  estimated  that  ten  thousand  people  from  Mosul 
were  there  at  one  time,  all  congregated  together 
without  any  proper  accommodation,  or  any  sanitary 
arrangements  ;  the  consequence  was  that  disease  and 
sickness  were  very  prevalent  amongst  them,  and  many 
went  seeking  health,  and  found  death. 

Last  year  a  similar  number  were  as  usual  gathered 
at  Hammam  Ali,  when  one  evening  a  lighted  match 
was  carelessly  thrown  down,  with  the  result  that  in 
a  few  minutes  many  of  these  booths  were  a  mass  of 
flames.  Several  children  were  burnt  to  death  and 
two  women. 

The  next  day  the  exodus  from  the  place  was 
universal.  We  were  staying  then  at  a  house  midway 
between  Mosul  and  Hammam  Ali,  and  watched  the 
procession  of  people  returning,  a  steady  stream  from 
morning  till  night.  After  a  day  or  two,  however, 
the  sad  episode  was  forgotten,  and  visitors  began 
to  flock  back  again. 

We  once  saw  this  celebrated  place.  It  was  on 
our  way  to  Mosul,  and  we  arrived  late  one  night 
at  Hammam  Ali,  minus  our  tent.  The  villagers 
kindly  offered  us  the  use  of  the  Hammam  (bath) 
for  the  night,  so  we  made  a  tour  of  inspection,  but 
decided  to  decline  their  offer  with  thanks. 

The  place  was  damp,  dirty,  and  malodorous. 
We  preferred  to  pass  the  night  in  a  stable,  which 
looked  a  trifle  more  inviting,  although  full  of  rat- 
holes.  In  the  morning  I  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Hammam,  as  it  was  a  ladies'  bathing  day,  and 
found  the  bath  crowded  with  women  and  children, 
packed  in  like  sardines  in  a  box  !  The  water  was 
very  hot,  and  I  wondered  the  women  could  stand 

196 


so  long  in  it.  Some  of  them  looked  rather  as  if 
they  had  been  boiled.  Here  were  women  and 
children,  apparently  healthy,  bathing  in  the  same 
water  as  others  suffering  from  all  manner  of  skin 
diseases  and  other  horrible  things.  However,  they 
all  looked  perfectly  happy  and  contented ;  and  I 
would  not  grudge  these  poor  creatures  any  little 
pleasure  which  might  help  to  brighten  their  lives. 

We  shall  see  in  the  following  chapters  how  little 
brightness  they  possess,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how 
much  of  sadness  and  sorrow. 


197 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

The  river  Tigris — Ancient  historical  interest — Garden  of  Eden— Origin  of 
name  unknown — Swiftness — Sources — Navigation  —  Keleqs  —  Bathing, 
fishing,  washing — Crossing  rivers. 

"  The  softly  lapsing  river, 
It  whispers  in  its  flow, 
Of  dear  days  gone  for  ever, 
Those  days  of  long  ago." 

P.  B.  MAESTON. 

nn|HE  river  Tigris,  on  the  banks  of  which  Mosul 
JL  is  situated,  is  a  noble  stream.  Though  inferior 
in  length  to  its  sister  the  Euphrates,  yet  it  is  no 
mean  rival,  either  in  antiquity  or  historical  fame. 
They  share  together  the  distinction  of  having  on 
their  banks  the  romantic  spot  reputed  to  be  the 
Paradise  of  Adam  and  Eve.  The  Garden  of  Eden 
is  situated,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  country, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris. 
When  we  passed  that  way  on  our  journey  from 
Busrah  to  Baghdad,  the  land  was  flooded  by  the 
spring  rains,  so  we  saw  nothing  of  the  beauties  of 
Paradise. 

The  Tigris  can  also  claim,  in  common  with  the 
Euphrates,  an  interesting  connection  with  some  of 
the  ancient  kingdoms  of  the  world,  extending  back 
to  early  post-diluvian  times.  Near  by,  the  Assyrian 

Empire  built  its  towns  of  splendour  and  strength. 

198 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

Daniel  records  visions  seen  upon  its  banks,  Cyrus  is 
said  to  have  marched  his  troops  along  its  shores, 
Alexander  overthrew  the  armies  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians  near  its  basin,  while  in  the  plain  of  Nineveh 
the  dynasty  of  the  Ommiade  caliphs  was  destroyed 
and  supplanted  by  that  of  the  Abassides.  The 
origin  of  its  name  is  unknown,  but  it  is  thought  that 
the  swiftly-flowing  character  of  the  river  gave  rise 
to  its  name.  Hence  the  old  Scriptural  name  Hid- 
dekel,  signifying  "  swift  or  quick."  Owing  to  its 
wealth  of  fertilising  power,  it  is  sometimes  called 
by  the  Arabs  "  Nahar-as-Salam,"  the  River  of  Peace. 
At  all  times  the  Tigris  is  a  swift  river,  but  the 
velocity  with  which  it  travels  differs  according  to 
the  season  of  the  year,  the  swiftest  time  of  all 
being  in  the  spring,  when  the  snows  from  all  the 
surrounding  mountains  melt  and  rush  down  to  the 
river,  causing  it  often  to  overflow  its  banks,  and  in- 
creasing its  impetuosity  to  a  great  extent.  At  this 
time  it  is  possible  to  travel  on  the  river  from  Mosul 
to  Baghdad  in  forty-eight  hours,  while  in  the  late 
summer  or  autumn  it  takes  at  least  ten  or  twelve 
days.  When  flowing  at  its  fastest  rate,  the  Tigris 
is  said  to  be  swifter  than  the  Danube.  The  course 
of  the  river  is  a  very  winding  one,  extending  for 
about  1040  miles.  Its  breadth  varies  very  much. 
At  Mosul  it  is  a  little  less  than  400  feet,  at  Baghdad 
about  600,  while  in  one  place  where  another  river 
flows  into  it,  the  width  amounts  to  over  1000  feet. 

The  sources  of  the  Tigris  are  at  an  altitude  about 
5000  feet  above  sea-level,  but  the  greater  part  of  its 
fall  is  accomplished  at  its  commencement,  by  the 

time  it  reaches  Mosul  the  elevation  above  sea-level 

199 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

is  only  353  feet,  the  remainder  of  its  course,  a 
distance  of  about  650  miles,  being  made  by  easy 
descent. 

With  a  very  little  trouble  the  river  could  easily 
be  made  navigable  as  far  up  as  Mosul,  the  chief 
hindrance  to  this  being  obstructions  in  the  river 
which  could  be  removed  by  dynamite  or  other  ex- 
plosives. A  day's  journey  from  Mosul  by  water 
there  is  a  large  dam  stretching  right  across  the  river, 
believed  to  have  been  built  by  Darius  with  the 
intent  to  prevent  Alexander  from  penetrating  his 
dominions  by  means  of  the  river.  When  the  Tigris 
is  full  this  is  not  an  insurmountable  barrier  even  as 
it  exists  now.  During  the  summer  and  autumn  the 
water  is  very  shallow,  and  steamers  would  find  it 
difficult  to  reach  Mosul,  but  a  little  engineering 
could  render  the  river  navigable  at  all  seasons. 
Once  or  twice  steamers  have  reached  Mosul,  thereby 
causing  great  excitement  amongst  the  natives.  For 
the  last  thirty  years  it  has  been  the  talk  of  Mosul 
that  "  steamers  are  coming,"  but  they  have  not  yet 
started.  We  heard  a  year  ago  that  two  steamers 
had  been  chartered  for  plying  between  Mosul  and 
Baghdad,  and  were  only  awaiting  a  firman  from 
the  Sultan,  but  so  far  nothing  has  been  seen  of 
them. 

Pending  the  inauguration  of  steamers,  the  natives 
still  continue  to  use  the  same  method  of  river  trans- 
port as  existed  in  the  days  of  Abraham  and  Jonah. 
This  consists  of  a  raft-like  construction,  and  is  em- 
ployed for  both  passenger  and  goods  traffic.  It  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  sheep  or  goat  skins 

inflated    and  fastened   close  together,   upon   which 

200 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

cross-bars  of  wood  are  laid  and  bound  firmly  in  place. 
The  skins  are  examined  daily  and  when  necessary  re- 
inflated  ;  great  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  them 
moist,  for  if  they  become  dry  they  are  liable  to 
burst.  The  raft  is  manned  by  one  or  two  natives, 
whose  only  work  is  to  guide  the  "  keleq,"  as  the  raft 
is  called,  to  keep  it  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  away 
from  all  dangerous  rocks  and  shoals.  For  this 
purpose  a  rough  kind  of  oar  is  used,  made  from 
the  branch  of  a  tree,  with  palm  branches  at  the 
end  forming  the  blade.  The  keleq  floats  down  the 
river  with  the  current,  the  passengers  amusing  them- 
selves with  singing  and  reciting  stories. 

When  a  European  travels,  a  little  hut  is  built 
for  his  convenience.  A  light  framework  of  lath  is 
run  up,  just  large  enough  to  hold  a  travelling  bed- 
stead and  chair;  this  is  covered  with  felt  or  water- 
proof sheeting  and  placed  upon  the  raft.  On  arrival 
at  Baghdad  the  whole  is  sold  for  about  half  its 
original  price.  The  owner  of  the  keleq  sells  the 
planks  of  wood  forming  the  floor  of  the  raft,  packs 
up  carefully  his  skins,  and  returns  by  land  to  Mosul, 
as  the  current  is  too  strong  to  allow  of  his  return 
the  same  way  as  he  came.  He  is  then  ready  to  be 
hired  for  another  journey.  In  good  weather  a 
journey  on  a  raft  is  a  very  pleasant  mode  of  travel- 
ling. It  has  many  advantages  over  caravaning  by 
land.  There  is  no  need  of  the  early  morning  or 
midnight  scramble  preparatory  to  the  start.  The 
owner  simply  ties  up  after  sunset,  and  as  soon  as 
dawn  appears  he  quietly  slips  the  rope,  and  off  the 
raft  glides,  while  the  passenger  is  still  sweetly  slum- 
bering, unconscious  of  any  movement. 

201 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

In  summer,  however,  the  river  is  the  happy 
hunting-ground  of  flies  and  mosquitoes,  the  result 
being  that  rest  and  sleep  are  impossible  either  by  day 
or  night.  In  a  storm,  too,  the  keleq  is  not  a  very 
secure  place  of  refuge.  An  English  lady  travelling 
from  Mosul  to  Baghdad  was  once  caught  in  a 
hurricane  and  her  keleq  blown  about  in  such  a  way 
that  she  expected  every  minute  to  find  herself  pre- 
cipitated into  the  river,  while  her  little  hut  and  all 
its  contents  were  saturated  through  and  through 
with  water. 

A  raft  is  a  good  target  for  the  Arabs  whose 
villages  lie  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  An 
Englishman  once  placed  his  bicycle,  which  he  was 
taking  home,  on  the  top  of  his  hut,  thinking  to 
keep  it  out  of  harm's  way.  The  Arabs,  seeing  this 
extraordinary-looking  machine,  at  once  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a  Maxim  gun  or  some  such 
deadly  weapon.  They  immediately  opened  fire,  and 
continued  shooting  till  the  raft  was  out  of  sight 
— fortunately  with  no  serious  result. 

The  French  Consul  at  Mosul  was  also  attacked 
by  Arabs  when  travelling  on  a  keleq.  For  seven 
hours  they  kept  up  an  active  fusilade,  both  parties 
making  good  use  of  their  guns. 

The  merchants  of  Mosul  use  these  rafts  for  ex- 
porting their  goods  to  Baghdad  and  other  places. 
After  the  harvest  enormous  keleqs  may  daily  be 
seen  leaving  Mosul,  loaded  heavily  with  wheat  and 
corn.  All  goods  for  the  south  are  exported  in  this 
way.  For  these  large  commercial  rafts,  about  three 
to  four  hundred  skins  are  used,  while  others  contain 
from  fifty  to  two  hundred,  according  to  the  size  of 

202 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

raft  and  number  of  passengers.  A  European  travel- 
ling alone  would  need  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred  skins  to  make  a  fairly  comfort- 
able raft. 

Natives  often  use  a  single  inflated  skin  for  travel- 
ling down  the  river,  sometimes  even  going  as  far  as 
Baghdad  on  one.  This  latter  feat  a  man  has  been 
known  to  accomplish  in  twenty-four  hours.  It  is  by 
no  means  as  easy  as  it  looks,  to  balance  yourself  on 
a  skin  ;  when  bathing  we  have  often  tried,  but  found 
it  very  difficult.  The  Arabs  use  these  skins  as 
ferry-boats  when  the  river  is  unfordable.  They  take 
off  their  garments  and  tie  them  round  their  head  as 
a  turban,  so  that  when  they  reach  the  opposite  side 
their  clothes  are  quite  dry. 

In  a  village  near  Mosul  I  have  seen  women 
crossing  the  river  in  this  way,  many  of  them  carrying 
a  child  on  her  back  in  addition  to  a  large  bundle  of 
clothes  which  she  has  been  washing  in  the  river.  The 
Arabs,  both  men,  women,  and  children,  are  quite  at 
home  in  the  river — swimming  as  easily  as  ducks,  and 
playing  all  manner  of  games  in  the  water ;  it  is  quite 
interesting  to  watch  them  from  a  distance.  The 
women  do  not  take  off  their  long  loose  garment,  but 
just  hold  the  skirt  of  it  in  their  teeth  if  it  impedes 
their  swimming.  Last  summer  we  were  staying  for  a 
time  at  a  castle  quite  near  the  river,  about  an  hour's 
ride  from  Mosul ;  while  there  we  bathed  almost  every 
day,  a  small  wood  running  to  the  edge  of  the  water 
acting  as  a  convenient  dressing-place.  The  owner  of 
the  castle  gave  notice  to  all  the  villagers  that  the 
wood  was  "  hareem "  each  afternoon,  so  we  were 

always  quite  private.     I  engaged  the  services  of  an 

203 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

Arab  woman  to  teach  me  to  swim  whenever  my 
husband  could  not  be  there.  She  could  swim  like  a 
fish  herself,  but  had  no  idea  of  teaching  any  one  else ; 
however,  before  our  holidays  were  over  I  had  mas- 
tered the  art.  She  would  make  me  put  one  hand 
on  her  shoulder  and  then  call  out :  "  Now,  kick  " — 
that  was  the  sum  total  of  her  instructions,  "  kick  "  ! 
The  river  is  considered  very  dangerous  for  bathing 
unless  you  know  it  well.  Shortly  before  we  were 
there  last  year,  an  Arab  woman  had  been  drowned. 
She  was  a  good  swimmer,  and  was  swimming  in  deep 
water,  when  suddenly  she  called  out  that  she  was 
drowning,  and  before  any  one  could  go  to  her  rescue 
she  sank,  and  was  quickly  carried  down  the  stream 
by  the  current ;  when  the  body  was  recovered  life 
was  quite  extinct.  For  a  few  days  the  women  were 
too  frightened  to  bathe  in  that  place,  thinking  that 
death  was  due  to  something  in  the  water ;  but  when 
we  arrived  a  fortnight  later  they  had  apparently 
quite  recovered  from  their  fright,  and  were  bathing 
as  usual. 

Another  day  we  were  watching  the  men  playing 
in  the  water,  when  suddenly  a  black  object  appeared 
in  the  distance  floating  down  the  stream ;  it  looked 
like  the  head  of  a  baby.  As  it  approached  the  place 
where  the  men  were  bathing,  one  of  our  servants 
swam  out  to  see  what  it  was,  and  found  to  his  horror 
it  was  the  body  of  a  man.  He  brought  it  to  the 
bank,  and  every  one  rushed  to  view  the  corpse. 
Then  came  the  question  as  to  who  would  bury  it ; 
no  one  was  willing  to  do  this,  although  the  body  was 
that  of  an  Arab,  and  all  the  onlookers  were  also  Arab 

villagers.     We  offered  backsheesh  to  any  one  who 

204 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

would  dig  the  grave,  but  no  one  volunteered,  and 
suggested  pushing  the  body  out  into  the  current 
again  to  be  carried  to  Baghdad,  as  the  easiest  way  of 
settling  the  matter.  Finally  a  mullah  passed  by, 
and  seeing  the  body,  ordered  some  men  to  bury  it  at 
once.  We  were  very  thankful,  as  we  could  not  bear 
to  think  of  the  poor  body  floating  down  the  stream, 
or  being  left  exposed  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 

We  watched  some  men  dig  a  very  shallow  grave, 
and  the  body  was  laid  to  rest,  the  mullah  reciting 
some  Moslem  prayers  ere  it  was  covered  with  earth 
and  stones. 

As  one  sees  such  scenes  as  this  taking  place,  it  is  not 
pleasant  to  think  that  this  same  river  forms  our  sole 
water  supply  for  drinking  and  all  domestic  purposes  ! 
If  we  take  a  walk  down  the  river  to  the  place  where 
the  water-carriers  fetch  the  water,  we  shall  have  all 
the  more  reason  thoroughly  to  enjoy  our  water ! 
There  hundreds  of  women  are  to  be  seen  washing  their 
clothes,  men  and  boys  enjoying  a  swim,  horses,  mules, 
and  donkeys  revelling  in  the  mud ;  while  not  at  all 
unlikely  a  few  dead  dogs  or  cats  may  be  seen  float- 
ing around  !  All  congregate  in  this  favourite  spot. 
This  being  the  case,  it  is  not  surprising  that  often 
our  water  resembles  mud  much  more  than  water 
when  brought  to  the  house.  Needless  to  say,  all  our 
drinking-water  is  filtered  and  boiled  before  using. 
The  water  is  brought  from  the  river  in  skins  on  the 
back  of  donkeys  or  mules,  at  the  rate  of  3s.  4d.  a 
hundred  skins.  It  seems  so  absurd  to  be  paying  in 
this  way  for  water  when,  with  a  comparatively  speak- 
ing small  outlay,  it  could  easily  be  conveyed  to  each 
house  by  means  of  pipes  from  the  river  running  close 

205 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

by.  This  has  been  done  by  an  energetic  Vali  in 
Damascus,  and  the  result  is  enviable. 

The  Tigris  cannot  be  said  to  contain  a  great  or 
varied  supply  of  fish,  but  there  are  two  or  three  kinds 
to  be  found,  which  help  to  vary  the  housekeeping 
monotony  of  everlasting  mutton  and  chicken.  A 
very  large  fish  called  "  bis  "  is  the  best  kind,  as  the 
meat  is  tender  and  mild,  while  the  bones  are  few ; 
the  others  seem  to  be  all  bones,  and  are  hardly  worth 
eating,  besides  being  absolutely  flavourless. 

Fishing  is  carried  on  from  the  bridge  by  the  fish- 
sellers.  A  line  is  generally  used,  baited  with  melon 
or  pieces  of  flesh.  Sometimes  poison  is  thrown  into 
the  river  in  order  to  kill  the  fish,  which  then  float  on 
the  top  of  the  water  and  are  easily  caught.  In  the 
summer  it  is  very  risky  buying  fish  in  the  bazaar,  as 
it  so  soon  becomes  stale ;  so  if  I  want  to  be  quite 
sure  of  having  fresh  fish,  I  send  a  servant  down  to 
the  bridge  to  see  a  fish  caught  and  then  bring  it 
home.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  fancy  he  does  not  at 
all  like  sitting  in  the  sun  waiting,  so  often  beguiles 
the  time  by  sitting  in  the  coffee-house  situated  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  ;  and  then,  having  allowed  an 
hour  or  two  to  elapse,  returns  empty-handed,  saying : 
"  There  are  no  fish  in  the  river  to-day." 

Rivers  without  bridges  are  a  great  trial  of  patience 
when  journeying  ;  it  takes  such  a  long  time  to  trans- 
port everything,  and  the  crossing  generally  takes 
place  at  the  end  of  a  stage  when  every  one  is  tired, 
and — shall  I  confess  it  ? — often  cross  too.  The  wait- 
ing in  the  burning  sun  while  the  boats  are  fetched,  the 
weary  bargaining,  and  all  the  usual  trials  of  patience 
become  exaggerated  out  of  their  due  proportions 

206 


THE    RIVER    TIGRIS 

when  you  know  that  just  across  the  water  is  the 
resting-place  for  the  night — so  near  and  yet  so  far ! 
And  as  you  sit  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  river  waiting, 
waiting,  it  is  difficult  to  feel  restful  and  at  peace 
with  all  men.  I  long  often  to  be  able  to  do  as  the 
animals  do,  i.e.  swim  over.  A  small  charge  is  made 
for  the  transport  of  each  animal,  so  the  muleteer 
often  prefers  to  swim  over  himself,  taking  his  animals 
with  him.  There  is  as  a  rule  only  one  ferry-boat,  so 
that  you  have  to  take  your  turn  ;  and  as  each  passage 
takes  about  an  hour,  a  great  deal  of  patience  is  often 
needed. 

The  ferry-boat  is  a  large  flat-bottomed,  antedilu- 
vian-looking construction,  and  you  wonder  how  ever 
it  can  bear  the  weight  of  all  that  is  put  upon  it. 
When  a  carriage  is  to  be  transported  the  horses  are 
first  unharnessed,  then  the  vehicle  is  lifted  bodily  on 
to  the  boat,  with  all  its  contents,  the  passengers  and 
horses  finding  standing-room  as  best  they  can. 

When  you  get  to  the  other  side  your  troubles  are 
not  over,  for  on  starting  to  put  up  the  tent  you  find 
one  of  the  poles  has  been  left  behind  on  the  other 
side;  so  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  still  and 
continue  the  waiting  process.  Or  perhaps  you  think 
a  cup  of  tea  would  help  while  away  the  time,  only  to 
find  that  the  charcoal  has  not  yet  arrived  !  So  there 
is  only  one  thing  to  do,  and  that  is  to  WAIT  till 
everything  is  safely  landed ;  then  you  can  begin  to 
prepare  for  the  long-delayed  rest. 


207 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  CHILDREN  OF  MOSUL 

Spoiling  process — Despair  of  the  parents — The  "  god"  of  the  hareem — Death 
by  burning — Festivities  at  birth  of  boy — Cradles  and  cradle  songs — 
School  life — Feast  in  honour  of  a  boy  having  read  the  Koran  through — 
"  Only  a  girl " — Girl  life — Girl  victims  of  Naseeb — Marriage. 

"The  household  must  weep  for  forty  days  on  the  birth  of  a  girl." 

AEABIC  PROVERB. 

"  Is  it  all  forgot  ?    All  schooldays'  friendship, 
Childhood's  innocence  ? " 

SHAKESPEARE. 

"  Where  children  are  not,  heaven  is  not." 

A.  SWINBURNE. 

THE  children  of  Mosul  have  on  the  whole  a  very 
good  time.  From  their  earliest  days  they  are 
allowed  to  do  pretty  much  as  they  like,  and  only 
when  the  process  of  spoiling  is  completed,  and  the 
child  has  become  a  terror  to  all,  do  the  parents  realise 
that  it  is  far  easier  to  spoil  a  child  than  to  "  unspoil " 
him,  once  the  deed  is  done.  This  method,  or  rather 
lack  of  method,  of  bringing  up  the  children,  is  a  great 
cause  of  trouble  and  sorrow  in  after  years  both  to  the 
parents  and  to  the  children  themselves,  but  yet  they 
never  seem  to  profit  by  their  experiences,  for  they  still 
continue  to  say  that  it  is  a  great  "  aib  "  or  shame  to 
deny  a  child  anything  he  may  want.  Although  this 
spoiling  process  is  carried  on  with  both  boys  and 
girls  in  the  earlier  years  of  their  lives,  it  is  brought  to 
perfection  in  their  treatment  of  the  boys. 

I  remember  a  pretty  little   child  called  Jamila 

208 


(beautiful) ;  she  was  so  fair  and  pretty  that  she  was 
known  by  many  as  "  the  English  child."  When  she 
was  about  three  years  old  she  became  very  ill,  and 
the  mother  brought  her  to  my  husband,  who  pre- 
scribed for  her,  but  said  that  the  chief  part  of  the 
treatment  lay  in  the  diet.  On  no  account  was  solid 
food  to  be  given  for  at  least  three  or  four  days.  The 
mother  looked  in  despair  when  she  heard  this,  as  she 
said,  "  Jamila  will  cry  if  she  cannot  have  her  meat 
and  bread  and  pillau ! "  A  day  or  two  later  I  was 
calling  at  the  house,  and  saw  that  Jamila  was  looking 
very  ill,  and  asked  the  mother  what  the  child  had 
been  eating.  "  Oh,"  she  said,  "  poor  little  child,  I 
had  to  give  her  meat  and  bread,  for  she  tore  her  hair 
and  clothes  in  her  anger,  on  my  refusing  to  give 
them  to  her,  and  so,  how  could  I  deny  them  to  her  ?  " 
And  sure  enough,  while  I  was  there,  Jamila  began  to 
cry  for  bread,  and  on  her  mother  refusing,  threw  her- 
self on  the  ground  in  a  paroxysm  of  anger,  beating 
her  head  and  face  with  her  clenched  fist,  till  she  was 
quite  blue  and  black  in  the  face.  The  mother  ran  at 
once  and  brought  bread  and  meat,  and  gave  to  the 
child,  who  immediately  recovered  her  equanimity  of 
mind  and  temper. 

Then  again,  I  have  seen  a  room  full  of  people  all 
in  despair  over  a  child  of  perhaps  two  or  three  years 
old,  who  refuses  to  drink  his  medicine  ordered  by 
the  doctor.  The  father  begins  the  performance  by 
solemnly  taking  the  glass  containing  the  medicine  up 
to  the  child,  and  saying  to  him,  "  Oh,  my  beloved, 
will  you  take  this  medicine  ? "  "  No,"  says  the  child, 
and  pushes  it  away.  The  father  looks  round  on  the 
audience  for  signs  of  wonder  and  astonishment  at  the 

209  o 


marvellous  doings  of  the  child.  Then  perhaps  the 
uncle  has  a  try,  and  meets  with  like  success ;  then 
the  mother,  the  aunts,  and  a  few  friends  all  beseech 
the  child  to  take  the  medicine,  saying,  "  For  my  sake, 
for  the  sake  of  your  father,  your  mother,  &c.,  take 
this,"  but,  of  course,  all  are  unsuccessful,  and  they  all 
shake  their  heads  and  say,  "  I  told  you  so,  he  will  not 
take  it,"  and  it  being  a  "  khatiya  "  (sin)  to  force  a  child 
to  do  anything  against  his  will,  the  child,  of  course, 
gains  the  victory  in  this  as  in  everything  else.  If 
you  suggest  pouring  the  medicine  down  the  child's 
throat  by  force,  the  parents  and  friends  will  put  you 
down  as  being  a  monster  of  cruelty. 

If  there  happens  to  be  only  one  boy  in  the 
hareem,  he  becomes  almost  like  a  little  god  to  all 
the  women  folk.  A  small  friend  of  mine  was  in  this 
position,  and  although  a  very  jolly  little  boy,  was  fast 
becoming  unbearable  in  his  actions  towards  his  grand- 
mother, mother,  and  aunts.  He  was  only  about  eight 
years  old,  but  one  day  he  was  calling  on  me  with  his 
aunt,  whom  I  loved  very  much,  when,  without  the 
smallest  provocation,  he  suddenly  took  up  a  stick  and 
gave  his  aunt  two  or  three  hard  cuts  across  her 
shoulders  with  it,  and  then  ran  laughing  out  of 
the  room.  I  did  not  say  anything  to  the  boy,  but 
presently  my  husband  came  in  to  lunch,  and  I  asked 
him  to  give  the  boy  a  beating,  and  told  him  what  he 
had  done.  So  we  went  to  hunt  for  the  boy,  and 
found  him  hiding  behind  his  grandmother,  who 
besought  us  not  to  touch  the  darling  boy.  My 
husband  gave  the  boy  a  very  slight  whipping,  and 
told  him  if  ever  he  did  such  a  thing  again,  he  would 

give  him  something  to  remember !     The  boy  was  so 

210 


DR.  HUME-GRIFFITH'S  STUDY  IN  MOSUL 


OUR  DRAWING-ROOM  IN  JUI.FA 


THE   CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

astonished  at  being  chastised,  that  to  this  day  he  has 
been  a  changed  boy,  and  much  more  bearable  in  his 
home  life. 

Another  instance  of  the  way  the  boys  are  spoilt. 
A  woman  and  her  daughter,  a  little  girl  of  about 
eight  years,  were  sitting  in  their  verandah  one  day 
behind  a  pile  of  cotton  which  had  just  been  "  fluffed  " 
by  the  man  whose  work  it  is  to  fluff  cotton.  The 
son  of  the  woman,  a  boy  of  seven,  thought  it  would 
be  great  fun  to  set  a  light  to  this  cotton,  which  he 
promptly  did  by  throwing  a  lighted  match  into  the 
midst  of  it,  with  the  result  that  his  mother  and  sister 
were  burnt  to  death.  I  called  at  the  house  some 
days  after,  and  found  the  boy  who  had  done  this  deed 
quite  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  the  women  folk,  and  far 
from  being  blamed  and  punished,  on  the  contrary 
they  were  fondling  and  caressing  him  more  than  ever. 
I  told  them  I  thought  the  boy  was  so  pleased  with 
all  the  attention  he  was  receiving,  that  very  likely 
he  would  do  the  same  thing  again  if  he  had  the 
opportunity. 

Let  me  give  you  a  short  sketch  of  a  child's  life, 
in  order  that  you  may  see  for  yourself  something  of 
their  everyday  life. 

As  we  are  talking  of  Eastern  children,  we  must 
begin  with  the  boy,  as  he  is  so  much  more  important 
a  personage  than  a  mere  girl. 

A  boy's  birth  is  celebrated  by  great  rejoicings  and 
feastings,  and  if  the  family  is  a  well-to-do  one,  at 
least  two  sheep  will  be  slain  and  cooked  and  given  to 
the  poor.  Our  next-door  neighbours  were  rejoicing 
over  the  birth  of  a  boy  a  short  time  ago,  and  they 

thought  it  necessary  to  sacrifice  three  sheep,  and  for 

211 


two  days  the  poor  were  coming  with  their  little  dishes 
and  pots  to  carry  away  portions  of  the  meat.  I  went 
to  see  this  ceremony,  and  it  was  very  interesting. 
Apparently  no  questions  were  asked,  the  only  recom- 
mendations necessary  being  poverty  and  need.  Also 
hundreds  of  loaves  of  bread  were  given  away  at  this 
time.  If  we  go  to  the  hareem  to  admire  and  pay  our 
homage  to  the  little  king,  we  must  be  careful  not  to 
praise  him  too  much,  or,  if  we  do,  we  must  qualify 
our  praise  by  saying  "  Mash'allah,"  which  will 
counteract  any  evil  influence.  We  shall  find  the 
baby  boy  swathed  up  tightly  in  his  swaddling 
clothes,  his  eyebrows  and  eyelids  pencilled  with 
native  cosmetics,  and  very  likely  a  beauty  spot  on 
his  forehead ;  his  little  head  will  be  covered  with  a 
little  silk  cap,  over  which  a  handkerchief  will  be 
wrapped,  and  on  the  cap  will  be  seen  some  coins 
and  blue  beads,  to  avert  the  dreaded  evil  eye.  We 
shall  find  him  very  probably  strapped  tightly  into  a 
cradle  made  of  brightly-painted  wood  ;  the  baby  is  laid 
on  the  top  of  the  little  mattress,  which  is  level  with 
the  sides  of  the  cradle,  and  then  strapped  down.  As 
he  grows  out  of  his  first  cradle  he  will  be  given 
another  and  larger  one,  and  much  more  comfortable, 
in  which  he  need  not  be  strapped,  as  the  sides  are 
high  enough  to  prevent  his  falling  out ;  a  cord  is 
attached  to  the  cradle,  so  that  his  mother  can  swing 
him  gently  while  she  sits  and  spins  or  does  anything 
she  has  to  do.  It  is  very  quaint  to  listen  to  their 
monotonous  chant  as  they  rock  the  cradle,  and  very 
often  they  sing  to  the  swing  of  the  cradle,  "  Allah  ho, 
Allah  hi,  Allah  ho,  Allah  hi,"  "  He  is  God,  He  is 
living,  He  is  God,  He  is  living." 

212 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

The  first  time  of  shaving  a  boy's  head  is  looked 
upon  as  a  very  important  day,  and  the  barber  must 
be  careful  to  leave  a  little  tuft  of  hair  on  the  top  of 
the  head,  by  which  he  can  be  pulled  up  into  heaven, 
otherwise  he  might  get  left  behind. 

When  the  boy  is  about  five,  he  will  probably  be 
sent  to  school.  He  is  then  dressed  as  a  miniature 
man,  in  white  knickerbockers,  shirt,  coloured  vest, 
and  silk  or  cloth  "  zeboon,"  a  loose  garment  reaching  to 
the  ankles ;  on  his  head,  of  course,  will  be  the  inevitable 
red  fez,  adorned  with  charms  to  bring  him  good  luck 
and  keep  off  evil.  Arrived  at  the  school,  our  little 
friend  will  seat  himself  on  the  ground,  and  his  educa- 
tion will  begin  by  learning  the  <_^  ^  \  (alef,  bey,  tcij], 
the  A,  B,  C,  of  the  Arabic  language.  After  he  has 
mastered  the  alphabet,  and  can  write  a  few  words, 
then  the  Koran  will  be  started,  and  the  boy  will  be 
kept  hard  at  this,  each  day  learning  a  short  portion 
till  a  chapter  is  known  perfectly  by  heart.  All  the 
boys  in  the  school  may  be  reciting  different  portions 
of  the  Koran  at  the  same  time,  and  in  a  sing-song 
tone,  so  that,  as  you  pass  up  and  down  the  streets, 
it  is  easy  to  recognise  these  seats  of  learning  for  the 
young.  I  have  often  peeped  into  some  of  these 
schools,  and  watched  the  boys,  all  seated  on  the 
ground,  swaying  themselves  backwards  and  forwards, 
repeating  the  Koran  in  a  loud,  monotonous  voice. 
When  a  boy  has  been  through  the  Koran  once,  a 
great  feast  is  made  in  his  honour.  He  is  decked 
out  in  grand  new  garments,  generally  of  silk  and 
embroidery,  and  men  dancers  are  engaged  for  a  day 
or  more,  according  to  the  means  of  the  parents. 

The  son  of  a  friend  of  mine  in  Mosul  had  just 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

completed  this  part  of  his  education,  and  his  mother 
sent  word  to  know  if  the  dancers  might  come  and 
dance  before  us  in  our  compound.  We  thought 
this  might  be  rather  trying,  as  they  would  probably 
have  stayed  ah1  day,  so  I  sent  a  message  thanking 
her  for  the  honour,  but  saying  I  would  prefer  to 
come  to  her  house  to  see  the  "tamash"  (sight),  as 
I  only  had  a  limited  time  to  give  to  it.  So  at  the 
time  appointed  I  went,  accompanied  by  a  woman 
servant  and  a  man,  as  I  thought  there  would  pro- 
bably be  a  great  commotion.  On  arriving  at  the 
door  of  the  house,  it  seemed  hopeless  even  to  think 
of  getting  in,  as  the  courtyard  was  full  of  men, 
dancing,  shouting,  yelling,  whirling  and  slashing 
naked  swords  and  daggers.  The  court  was  a  very 
small  one,  and  my  first  thought  was  to  turn  and  fly, 
but  the  hostess  was  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  and 
I  did  not  like  to  disappoint  her,  so  I  sent  the  man- 
servant in  front  to  open  a  passage  in  the  crowd 
and  followed  hard  after  him,  and  felt  very  thankful 
when  we  reached  a  room  safely.  The  women  were 
gathered  there  looking  out  of  the  windows  at  the 
fun.  But  this  did  not  seem  to  please  the  dancers, 
for  they  called  repeatedly  for  the  "  khatoun  "  (lady)  to 
come  and  watch  them,  and  some  even  followed  me 
into  the  room,  thereby  throwing  the  women  into  a 
state  of  panic  and  fright.  The  men  were  so  wildly 
excited  that  they  hardly  knew  what  they  were  doing. 
Stripped  to  the  waist,  they  flourished  their  swords 
and  yelled,  then  jumped  high  into  the  air,  then 
crouched  on  the  ground  and  again  leapt  into  the 
air,  all  the  time  pointing  the  daggers  or  swords 
either  at  their  own  hearts  or  some  one  else's.  To 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

add  to  the  general  excitement,  other  men  were  beat- 
ing drums  and  playing  on  a  weird  kind  of  stringed 
instrument.  After  receiving  their  "  backsheesh  "  they 
departed,  for  which  I  was  not  sorry.  The  boy  in 
whose  honour  all  this  is  taking  place  is  very  happy 
and  delighted,  and  thinks  now  he  is  a  man,  and  so, 
as  he  is  leaving  his  childhood  behind  him,  we  too 
will  leave  him  and  pass  on  to  the  much  less  im- 
portant subject  (from  an  Eastern  standpoint)  of  the 
childhood  of  a  girl. 

"  Only  a  girl "— "  Only  a  girl."  These  are  the 
words  which  generally  follow  the  announcement  of 
the  birth  of  a  girl.  Poor  little  mite,  her  entrance 
into  the  world  is  not  a  cause  of  great  joy  or  rejoic- 
ing, and  from  her  earliest  days,  I  think,  this  lies  as 
a  shadow  upon  her ;  for  to  my  mind  there  is  a  sad- 
ness and  pathos  about  the  little  girls  quite  different 
to  the  masterful  looks  and  ways  of  the  boys,  the 
lords  of  creation.  As  it  is  a  part  of  the  Moslem's 
creed  to  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  so 
the  parents  now,  as  always,  say,  "  It  is  God's  will " 
("  Al  Allah "),  and  bow  their  heads  in  submission 
to  this  new  yoke  put  upon  them.  Of  course  there 
are  exceptions,  and  some  love  their  little  daughters 
very  much,  but  taken  as  a  rule,  girls  are  not  welcome 
— certainly  not  more  than  one.  If  the  parents  of  the 
girl  baby  are  well-to-do,  perhaps  they  may  sacrifice 
one  sheep,  but  the  f eastings  and  almsgiving  are  done 
in  a  much  quieter  way  and  with  as  little  ostentation 
as  possible ;  and  if  you  visit  the  mother  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  very  much  about  the  new  arrival 
as  it  is  "  only  a  girl,"  and  it  is  not  well  to  make  the 
poor  mother  feel  too  sad. 

215 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

So  the  little  girl  starts  her  life,  with  not  too 
much  love  and  attention.  If  she  happens  to  be  well 
and  strong  she  will  thrive  apace  in  spite  of  all,  but 
if  she  is  at  all  inclined  to  be  weak  or  delicate,  the 
chances  are  that  she  will  be  neglected  until  it  is  too 
late,  for  human  aid,  and  then  perhaps,  as  a  conscience 
salve,  she  will  be  taken  to  the  doctor  by  the  mother 
or  some  other  relative.  How  many  of  these  little 
victims  have  been  brought  when  too  late  to  my 
husband  I  should  not  like  to  say.  Directly  the 
doctor  sees  a  child  suffering  from  some  terribly 
neglected  disease  he  at  once  says,  "  A  girl,  of  course  ! 
If  the  child  had  been  a  boy  you  would  have  brought 
him  long  ago."  And  so,  alas,  it  is  true  of  many 
cases.  It  is  a  convenient  way  of  getting  rid  of  some 
of  a  too  numerous  family  of  girls,  and  then  the 
mothers  and  relations  will  piously  clasp  their  hands 
and  say,  "  It  is  the  will  of  God."  The  will  of  God, 
indeed  !  This  so-called  submission  to  the  will  of 
God,  or  "kismet"  or  "naseeb,"  as  the  Turk  and 
Arab  call  it,  is  often  responsible  for  a  great  deal 
of  neglect  by  mothers  of  their  little  girls.  For  in- 
stance, there  was  such  a  nice-looking  young  widow 
who  used  to  come  and  see  me.  She  had  two  children, 
both  girls,  the  elder  about  five  years  of  age,  and 
the  younger  nearly  three.  This  younger  child  was 
a  perfectly  beautiful  child — just  like  a  lovely  wax 
doll ;  indeed,  so  much  did  she  resemble  a  doll  that 
she  was  often  called  "1'abbi,"  which  means  a  doll. 
Her  sweet  little  face  had  a  complexion  which  any 
English  mother  might  have  been  proud  of,  and  her 
large  brown  eyes  were  full  of  life  and  fun,  while  her 
dear  little  golden  curls  falling  over  her  forehead  and 

216 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

forming  a  halo  round  her  head  gave  her  an  appear- 
ance of  a  little  cherub.  I  found  out  very  soon  that 
this  child  had  the  beginnings  of  a  terrible  disease 
in  her,  which,  if  attended  to  at  once,  might  be  cured, 
but  which  neglected  would  mean  certain  and  sure 
death.  I  spoke  to  the  mother  about  it,  and  implored 
her  to  bring  the  child  to  the  hospital  for  treatment ; 
but  no,  she  would  not  listen ;  she  simply  shrugged 
her  shoulders  and  said,  "  Naseeb,  al  Allah.  If  the 
child  is  to  die,  she  will  die ;  if  it  is  written  she  is  to 
live,  she  will  live,"  and  nothing  I  could  say  would 
induce  her  either  to  bring  the  child  or  to  let  us  have 
her  to  take  care  of ;  and  I  heard  afterwards  from  a 
neighbour  that  the  mother  wanted  the  little  girlie  to 
die,  so  that  she  might  be  free  to  marry  again,  as  no 
man  would  take  a  wife  who  already  was  burdened 
with  two  girls.  Instances  of  this  kind  might  be 
multiplied  by  the  hundred,  showing  how  girl  life  is 
neglected,  under  the  blasphemous  idea  that  it  is 
"  naseeb." 

As  a  rule  it  is  not  considered  at  all  necessary  to 
send  a  Moslem  girl  to  school,  but  quite  lately  the 
Turkish  authorities  have  opened  some  schools  for 
girls  in  Mosul,  and  have  sent  women  teachers  from 
Constantinople,  so  this  is  a  step  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. I  visited  one  of  these  schools,  and  was  very 
much  struck  by  the  happier  looks  of  the  girls  com- 
pared with  the  faces  of  the  same  girls  in  their  own 
homes.  They  are  taught  to  read  and  write  and,  of 
course,  to  recite  the  Koran.  Also,  we  were  shown 
some  very  pretty  pieces  of  silk  embroidery  which  the 
girls  had  just  finished,  and  really  some  were  quite 
artistic  and  pretty.  These  schools  are  free,  the 

217 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    MOSUL 

teachers  being  paid  by  Government,  and,  therefore, 
girls  of  all  classes  sit  side  by  side.  The  pasha's 
daughter  and  the  daughter  of  the  pasha's  slave 
may  both  attend  the  same  school  and  mix  quite 
freely  and  happily  together. 

For  the  first  seven  or  eight  years  of  a  girl's  life 
she  may  go  unveiled  and  run  about  pretty  freely 
with  only  a  silk  scarf  on  her  head,  but  when  she 
reaches  the  age  of  nine  or  thereabout  a  great  change 
takes  place  in  her  life.  She  is  prohibited  from  going 
out,  except  occasionally  with  the  mother  or  other 
relations,  and  then  she  must  be  closely  veiled.  Poor 
children,  I  do  so  often  pity  them — they  so  soon 
leave  their  childhood  behind  them  and  become 
women  before  they  come  to  girlhood.  Of  course 
the  great  aim  and  object  of  parents  is  to  marry  the 
girls  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  man  who  can  offer 
the  highest  price  for  her ;  but  the  subject  of  wed- 
dings is  so  extensive  that  we  must  leave  it  for 
another  chapter.  Only  I  will  say  here  that  I  think 
the  reason  girls  are  looked  upon  more  or  less  as  a 
nuisance  is  because  they  cost  so  much  to  get  mar- 
ried ;  for  if  a  father  has  three  or  four  girls  to  marry, 
he  needs  to  be  a  rich  man.  From  the  time  the  girl 
is  four  or  five  years  old  he  begins  loading  her  with 
gold  and  jewellery,  so  that  by  the  day  she  comes 
to  be  of  a  marriageable  age  she  shall  have  a  good 
supply  to  offer  to  her  would-be  husband. 


218 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    MOSLEM   WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

Beauty  behind  the  veil— Types  of  beauty — My  dear  old  friend  of  110  years 
of  age — Aids  to  beauty  described — Pretty  children — Beauty  tainted 
with  sin — Imprisonment  of  women — Peeps  into  some  hareems — Warm 
receptions — A  visit  from  the  ladies  of  a  select  hareem — Love  the  magic 
key  to  open  hearts. 

"  Women  are  worthless  creatures,  and  soil  men's  reputations." 

ARABIC  PBOVEKB. 

"  As  I  told  you  always,  her  beauty  and  her  brain  go  not  together." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  has  often  been  said  that  there  is  very  little 
beauty  to  be  seen  behind  the  veil  in  Turkish 
Arabia.  I  certainly  do  not  agree  with  this  state- 
ment, for  I  have  seen  some  very  beautiful  faces 
amongst  the  Mohammedan  women  of  Mosul.  There 
is  beauty,  too,  to  suit  all  tastes :  the  winsome 
blonde,  with  her  pale  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair;  the 
striking  brunette,  peeping  from  behind  her  veil  with 
laughing  brown  eyes,  which  at  times  are  as  full  of 
pathos  as  those  of  a  faithful  collie  which  has  lost  its 
master. 

I  think  the  chief  attraction  of  Eastern  women 
lies  in  their  eyes.  One  face  comes  to  my  mind  as 
I  write.  It  is  not  a  pretty  face  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  word,  but  the  eyes  are  wonderful, 
revealing  a  soul  full  of  sadness,  a  longing  for  some- 
thing not  attainable :  eyes  that  might  make  you 

219 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

weep  as  you  feel  them  fixed  upon  you  in  unspeak- 
able yearning  for  love.  Another  type  of  face  is  the 
bright,  vivacious  one,  seen  chiefly  amongst  young 
unmarried  women — marriage  in  the  East  generally 
having  the  effect  of  taking  all  brightness  out  of  a 
face  or  a  life.  There  is  also  many  a  sweet  face  to 
be  seen  in  Mosul.  Perhaps  these  could  not  be 
called  beautiful  except  for  the  sweetness.  One 
such  I  can  see  now  as  my  memory  takes  me  back 
a  few  months.  A  dear  face  is  pressed  close  to 
mine,  and  with  pleading  blue  eyes  and  such  a  sweet, 
expressive  mouth  which  utters  words  such  as  these : 
"  Khatoun,  I  cannot  go — I  cannot  leave  you.  Will 
you  let  me  live  always  with  you  ? " 

If  only  you  knew  the  history  of  this  woman, 
you  would  wonder  that  her  face  could  bear  such  a 
sweet  look,  or,  indeed,  how  she  managed  to  endure 
life  at  all. 

Beauty  of  the  East  is  all  too  fleeting  as  a  rule, 
a  woman  of  thirty  years  of  age  being  quite  passee. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  some  very  fine-looking  old 
ladies  in  Mosul.  One  dear  friend  of  mine  is  proud 
of  the  fact  that  she  has  reached  the  grand  age  of 
110!  Her  face  still  retains  some  of  its  former 
beauty.  Her  daughter  is  a  young  woman  of  nearly 
ninety,  her  grand-daughter  can  boast  of  seventy 
years,  while  as  to  her  great-grandchildren,  they  are 
countless ! 

This  old  lady  came  one  day  to  the  dispensary 
for  medicine,  as  she  wished  to  be  "  made  strong " 
enough  to  take  a  journey  consisting  of  six  hours' 
riding  to  a  hot-water  spring  outside  Mosul,  a  place 

to  which  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going  regularly 

220 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

for  the  last  100  years  or  so !  She  was  also  quite 
distressed  because  her  skin  was  rough,  and  asked  the 
doctor  to  give  her  some  medicine  to  make  it  smooth 
again.  Even  at  110  she  was  capable  of  thinking  of 
and  longing  for  a  renewal  of  her  lost  beauty.  Aids 
to  beauty  are  much  sought  after  by  the  ladies  of 
Mosul,  as  they  do  not  at  all  approve  of  becoming 
"  old."  It  is  quite  a  rare  sight  to  see  a  white- 
haired  woman.  The  moment  grey  hairs  commence 
to  appear  they  have  recourse  to  henna,  a  dye  much 
in  request  by  Easterns  of  both  sexes.  Freckles  are 
a  cause  of  much  sorrow  of  heart  to  Mosul  ladies. 
One  girl,  who  was  really  very  pretty,  was  brought 
constantly  to  the  dispensary  by  her  mother,  who 
implored  my  husband  to  eradicate  the  freckles  with 
which  her  daughter's  face  was  covered,  as,  if  they 
were  not  removed,  she  might  never  get  a  proposal 
of  marriage.  However,  a  man  was  forthcoming 
who  apparently  did  not  object  to  freckles,  for 
shortly  before  leaving  Mosul  I  received  an  invita- 
tion to  this  girl's  wedding-feast. 

There  are  some  very  pretty  children  in  Mosul, 
some  dark,  others  fair,  with  blue  eyes  and  curly  hair. 
However,  this  latter  style  of  beauty  is  not  as  a  rule 
admired.  Mothers  have  a  great  horror  lest  their 
children  should  have  curly  hair.  If  a  child  possesses 
it,  the  women  try  by  all  means  in  their  power  to 
straighten  out  the  curls,  sometimes  even  coming  to 
ask  for  medicine  for  this  purpose. 

Very  often,  however,  the  children  lose  a  great  deal 
of  their  beauty  when  five  or  six  years  old.  Perhaps 
it  is  because  their  souls  at  that  age  become  tainted 

with  knowledge  of  evil,  and  this  knowledge  is  re- 

221 


fleeted  on  their  faces.  It  is  heartrending  to  see 
pretty  little  children  listening  open-mouthed  to  some 
horrible  tale  of  sin  and  wickedness  told  by  a  member 
of  the  hareem.  It  is  true  there  is  beauty  behind  the 
veil,  but,  alas  1  it  is  beauty  tainted  with  the  blackness 
of  sin.  How  can  lives  be  beautiful  when  the  souls 
within  are  dead  ? — as  dead  as  sin  and  sorrow  can 
make  them.  Boys  and  girls  grow  up  amidst  sur- 
roundings which  soon  soil  their  souls ;  the  "  inno- 
cency  of  childhood,"  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  English 
parents,  is  unknown  in  a  Moslem  hareem. 

Many  and  many  a  time  have  I  interrupted  a  con- 
versation consisting  of  things  which  should  not  be 
spoken  of,  by  pointing  out  to  the  women  some  boys 
or  girls  sitting  near  by,  listening  with  evident  delight 
to  their  unclean  talk.  Sometimes  they  would  desist, 
but  as  a  rule  would  only  laugh,  saying :  "  What  does 
it  matter  ?  They  know  all  about  it ! "  Oh  !  the  pity 
and  horror  of  it — young  lives  spoilt  and  contaminated 
almost  before  their  feet  have  started  on  the  difficult 
and  perilous  walk  through  life.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  these  children  grow  up  with  diseased  minds  and 
deadened  souls  ?  Then  they  in  their  turn  become 
the  parents  of  another  generation,  to  whom  they 
teach  the  same  soul-destroying  creeds. 

There  is  no  hope  for  the  children  of  Mohammedan 
lands  until  the  mothers  have  learnt  a  little  of  the 
meaning  of  pure  life  and  conversation.  There  is  no 
hope  for  the  women  while  the  men  are  what  they 
are.  The  whole  system  is  one  of  degradation  and 
vice.  When  Mohammed,  acting  under  what  he 
declared  to  be  a  revelation  from  Allah,  introduced 
the  use  of  the  veil,  he  swept  away  for  ever  all  hope 


THE  CAMERA  IN  MOSUL 

The  women  love  to  be  photographed,  and  often  ask  me  to  "  make  pictures  of  them."     These  are 
Christian  women,  for  no  Moslem  woman  is  allowed  to  have  her  photo  taken. 


TIRED  OF  PLAY  AT  A  PICNIC 

When  all  were  tired  out  with  playing  games  and  swinging,  tea  was  handed  round. 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

of  happiness  for  Moslem  women.  By  means  of  the 
veil  he  immured  them  for  ever  in  a  living  grave. 
"  Imprisoned  for  life  "  is  the  verdict  written  against 
each  Moslem  woman  as  she  leaves  childhood  behind 
her.  Before  the  days  of  Mohammed  the  Arabs  were 
in  the  habit  of  burying  alive  yearly  a  certain  number 
of  new-born  girls ;  surely  the  fate  of  these  innocents 
was  better  than  that  of  the  millions  of  women  to-day 
who  are  buried  alive  behind  the  veil.  "  Ensha'  Allah  " 
(God  willing),  in  the  near  future  the  same  Power 
which  raised  British  women  to  hold  the  position  they 
now  do  will  also  penetrate  through  the  prison  bars 
of  the  hareems  of  Mohammedan  lands  and  set  free 
the  prisoners.  An  enlightened  Mohammedan  gentle- 
man once  said :  "  The  only  hope  for  our  women  is 
Christianity."  God  grant  that  their  "  only  hope  " 
may  not  be  denied  them. 

How  often  I  have  said  to  these  women,  "  Alhamd- 
'llillah  (thank  God),  I  am  not  a  Moslem  woman ! " 
and  the  heartfelt  answer  has  always  been,  "  Yes, 
indeed,  you  may  thank  God  ;  but  it  is  naseeb  "  (fate). 
The  longer  I  live  amongst  Moslem  women  the  more 
my  heart  yearns  with  love  and  pity  for  them,  and 
the  more  thankful  I  am  that  their  lot  is  not  mine. 

Let  us  now  peep  into  some  of  the  many  hareems 
of  Mosul.  There  are  some  into  which  I  should  blush 
with  shame  to  take  my  readers,  on  account  of  the 
conversations  we  might  hear ;  but  we  will  choose 
some  where,  in  all  probability,  we  shall  see  and  hear 
nothing  objectionable. 

Our  first  visit  shall  be  to  a  near  neighbour  of  ours. 
The  house  is  a  large  one,  the  owner  holding  a  high 

social  position  in  the  town.     As  we  enter  the  outside 

223 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

gates  we  see  a  large  reception-room,  in  which  the 
master  of  the  house  is  sitting  holding  court.  We 
must  not  look  that  way,  as  we  are  in  native  cos- 
tume ;  so,  pulling  our  veils  a  little  closer,  we  hurry 
on  till  we  reach  the  door  of  the  hareem.  This  is 
always  kept  locked ;  upon  knocking,  it  is  opened  by 
a  native  girl  or  woman,  who  immediately  kisses  our 
hands  or  dress,  then  ushers  us  into  the  presence  of 
the  khatoun.  In  this  case  the  head  lady  of  the 
hareem  has  been  a  widow  for  some  years,  and  is  still 
wearing  her  black  mourning  dress.  She  rises  from 
her  place  amongst  the  cushions  on  the  floor  as  we 
enter  and  salaams  low,  bidding  us  welcome  to  her 
house,  at  the  same  time  indicating  our  seats  by  her 
side.  We  arrange  ourselves  as  comfortably  as  possible, 
sitting  cross-legged  in  true  Arab  fashion.  By-and-by 
the  daughter-in-law  comes  in — a  frail,  delicate-looking 
woman,  and  with  her  a  little  girl,  her  only  child.  She 
is  sad  because  she  has  no  boy,  and  is  afraid  her  hus- 
band will  divorce  her  on  this  account. 

Since  leaving  Mosul  I  have  heard  that  her  fears 
on  this  point  were  not  groundless,  for  her  husband 
has  since  divorced  her  and  taken  another  wife  in  her 
place.  The  usual  coffee  is  handed  round  by  one  of 
the  many  women  servants,  and  our  hostess  is  very 
much  surprised  that  we  will  not  join  her  in  smoking 
a  cigarette.  Sometimes  there  are  a  dozen  or  so 
women  living  in  the  same  hareem,  wives  of  brothers, 
and  it  is  often  difficult  to  know  who  is  who.  The 
relationships  are  sometimes  most  perplexing.  Even 
to  this  day  there  are  houses  which  I  visit  frequently, 
but  have  not  yet  mastered  the  intricate  "  connections  " 
of  the  various  members  of  the  hareem. 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

Here  is  another  hareem,  quite  different  from  the 
last  one  we  visited.  My  special  friends  in  this  house 
are  two  young  girls  who  are  not  yet  married.  They 
are  such  dear,  bright  girls,  and  as  I  enter  throw  their 
arms  round  my  neck  and  bid  me  welcome  in  a  most 
demonstrative  way.  If  I  am  expected  I  always  find 
a  meal  ready,  and  if  my  visit  is  unannounced,  a 
woman  is  always  despatched  to  the  nearest  "  sook  " 
(market)  to  buy  an  impromptu  meal.  They  are  poor 
people,  and  I  always  beg  them  not  to  do  this,  but 
they  never  listen  to  my  entreaties.  The  meal  con- 
sists sometimes  of  "kabobs,"  i.e.  meat  minced  and 
pressed  round  iron  skewers  and  grilled  over  a  charcoal 
fire ;  this  is  placed  on  a  plate  and  garnished  with 
sliced  raw  onions  and  bitter  herbs.  Another  time 
a  sheep  had  been  killed,  and  our  meal  consisted  of 
the  "  interiors,"  dished  in  a  most  tempting  manner. 
Sometimes  salads  form  the  principal  dish ;  but 
whatever  the  meal  consists  of,  it  is  always  served 
with  love,  and  is  consequently  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated. This  house  seems  always  to  be  full  of 
women,  all  more  or  less  related.  If  I  get  mixed  up, 
as  I  sometimes  do,  in  the  relationship  of  those  pre- 
sent, and  show  my  ignorance  of  their  names,  they 
are  quite  hurt,  and  exclaim :  "  What,  you  have 
forgotten  me  ? "  "  Was  I  not  in  the  hospital  for  a 
week  ?  "  or,  "  Did  I  not  bring  So-and-so  to  see  you  ? " 
If  they  have  seen  me  once,  they  are  quite  surprised 
if  I  cannot  remember  all  about  them,  and  often  I 
have  to  resort  to  stratagem  to  find  out  their  names 
without  exposing  my  forgetfulness.  While  we  sit 
and  talk  the  girls  are  all  busily  engaged  in  crotchet- 
ing  caps.  These  are  sold  in  the  sook  at  about  six- 

225  p 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

pence  a  dozen,  cotton  included.  In  certain  "  ma- 
hullahs  "  (quarters)  of  the  town  you  will  see  all  the 
women  doing  this  work  ;  in  another  part  of  the  town 
they  are  all  occupied  with  knitting  socks,  in  another 
cigarette-making  is  the  fashion.  Each  mahullah 
seems  to  have  its  own  style  of  work  for  the  women, 
to  which  it  adheres  more  or  less. 

In  one  house  where  I  visit,  a  basin  of  delicious 
"  lebban  "  is  always  set  before  me.  We  all  sit  on  the 
floor  round  a  diminutive  table  about  five  inches 
high,  and  each  one  being  provided  with  a  wooden 
spoon  dips  out  the  lebban  from  the  central  dish. 
This  lebban  makes  a  delicious  food  in  the  hot 
weather.  It  is  made  something  after  the  same 
manner  as  "junket,"  only  lebban  is  more  tart  and 
acid.  Eaten  with  grated  cucumbers,  it  makes  a 
very  refreshing  salad.  Fortunately  for  me,  I  can 
eat  and,  as  a  rule,  thoroughly  enjoy  native  food. 
In  fact,  I  often  prefer  it  to  our  own,  for  almost  all 
attempts  at  European  cookery  by  native  cooks  are 
decided  failures.  My  husband,  on  the  other  hand, 
cannot  indulge  in  this  respect,  the  excessive  fat 
used  being  too  much  for  his  digestive  powers. 

But  to  return  to  our  ladies.  Not  only  do  I  visit 
in  the  hareems  of  the  towns,  but  the  hareems  very 
often  pay  me  a  visit  at  our  house.  The  poorer  class 
of  women  come  very  freely,  and  they  know  that  they 
are  always  welcome.  We  have  a  room  specially  set 
apart  for  women  visitors,  so  that  they  may  feel  quite 
safe  from  any  men  servants  who  might  happen  to 
be  about.  The  higher- class  ladies  do  not  come  so 
frequently,  the  idea  being  that  the  more  strictly 

they  keep  to  their  own  hareem,  the  more  select  and 

226 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

important  will  they  become  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  There  is  one  family  in  Mosul  who  boast 
that  their  hareem  have  never  visited  any  other 
house.  So  strictly  have  the  ladies  been  kept  in 
seclusion,  that  they  were  not  even  allowed  to  go  to 
the  "hammam"  (bath)  till  quite  lately.  Now,  how- 
ever, they  are  allowed  the  luxury  of  once  a  month 
walking  a  hundred  yards  or  so  to  the  nearest  bath. 
After  becoming  acquainted  with  the  ladies  of  this 
hareem  I  was  very  anxious  to  obtain  permission 
for  them  to  come  and  visit  me.  They  did  not  at 
all  hold  out  any  hope  that  their  lords  and  masters 
would  allow  such  an  unheard-of  proceeding.  One 
day,  however,  my  husband  told  the  head  of  the 
house  that  I  was  very  anxious  for  the  ladies  of  his 
hareem  to  come  and  see  me.  To  the  great  surprise 
of  all  he  acquiesced,  only  stipulating  that  the  visit 
should  be  kept  as  secret  as  possible.  The  ladies 
were  very  excited,  and  for  days  beforehand  were 
talking  about  the  proposed  visit  and  making  pre- 
parations for  it.  On  the  day  fixed  the  way  had 
to  be  cleared  of  all  menkind.  The  doctor  was 
banished  from  the  house  for  the  whole  afternoon, 
the  men  servants  were  given  a  holiday,  and  all  doors 
through  which  a  stray  man  might  happen  to  wander 
were  carefully  bolted  and  barred. 

At  the  hour  appointed  a  woman  servant  arrived 
to  know  if  all  was  ready.  When  she  had  satisfied 
herself  that  no  men  were  visible,  nor  could  become 
so  unexpectedly,  she  returned  to  fetch  the  ladies. 
They  arrived  in  all  the  glory  of  black  silk  chuddars, 
which  Judy  (our  woman  servant)  carefully  removed 

and  folded  up.     The   two   older  ladies   were  quite 

227 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

simply  dressed  in  print  or  muslin,  but  the  young 
wife  was  decked  out  in  one  of  her  many  bridal 
costumes,  and  looked  very  charming.  She  was  then 
only  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  but  was  the  mother 
of  two  pretty  children,  a  girl  and  a  boy.  They  were 
all  so  delighted  to  be  allowed  out  for  the  first  time 
in  their  lives.  We  began  by  eating  cucumbers  and 
water-melons,  followed  by  tea,  coffee,  and  English 
biscuits  and  cakes.  These  latter  they  much  appre- 
ciated, asking  permission  to  carry  away  some  for 
other  members  of  the  hareem  to  taste.  After  re- 
freshments had  been  partaken  of  they  were  very 
anxious  to  see  all  over  the  house.  As  we  went 
from  room  to  room  it  was  so  funny  to  hear  their 
remarks.  The  bedroom  seemed  to  take  their  fancy 
most  of  all,  as  they  could  not  see  why  we  needed 
a  room  specially  for  sleeping  in. 

They  were  very  charmed  with  our  little  harmo- 
nium, and  listened  with  great  delight  while  I  played 
and  sang  to  them  some  of  our  old  English  hymns 
translated  into  Arabic.  One  of  the  ladies  trying  to 
play  could  not  understand  why  it  would  not  "  speak  " 
for  her,  and  upon  my  moving  the  pedals  was  over- 
joyed to  find  that  she  could  "  make  music."  Their 
delight  at  everything  was  just  like  that  of  little 
children  on  finding  a  new  toy.  Their  visit  lasted 
about  three  hours,  and  they  went  away  promising  to 
come  again  soon.  This  hareem  is  a  most  exception- 
ally happy  one.  There  is  only  one  wife  in  it,  the 
two  elder  ladies  being  sisters-in-law  to  the  bride, 
and  unmarried.  They  all  seem  to  live  together  in 
peace  and  happiness.  Unfortunately,  this  is  only 

the  exception,  which  always  goes  to  prove  the  rule, 

228 


MOSLEM    WOMEN    OF    MOSUL 

that  hareems  are  not  the  abode  of  peace.  How 
can  there  be  peace  when  the  heart  is  fiill  of  jealousy 
and  hatred  ?  One  such  case  comes  to  my  mind. 
There  are  two  brothers  living  in  one  house,  one  of 
them  being  married.  After  some  years  of  married 
life  had  passed  and  they  remained  childless,  he  took 
another  wife,  and  the  first  one  was  thrown  into 
misery  and  despair.  Shortly  after  this  we  were 
awakened  one  night  by  hearing  most  fearful 
shrieks  and  yells  coming  from  this  house.  The 
following  day  we  heard  that  the  two  wives  had 
been  quarrelling  and  fighting,  as  usual,  till  at  last 
the  husband  took  the  first  wife  and  turned  her 
forcibly  out  of  doors.  Fortunately,  her  mother's 
house  was  near  by,  to  which  she  went,  and  where 
she  remains  to  this  day. 

It  has  been  said,  and  unfortunately  too  often 
truly  said,  that  love  has  no  part  in  the  life  of  a 
Moslem  woman ;  and  yet  it  is  also  true  that  they 
are,  as  a  rule,  a  most  loving  and  lovable  set  of 
people.  It  is  because  they  have  so  little  love  and 
kindness  in  their  own  lives  that,  when  it  does  come 
to  them,  their  hearts  are  ready  to  overflow  in 
response. 

Perhaps  the  Arab  women  are  slow  to  give  their 
love  and  trust,  but  when  once  given  it  is  sure  and 
lasting.  Often  these  women  have  said  to  me, 
"  Why  do  you  love  us,  Khatoun  ? "  They  cannot 
understand  that  any  one  should  care  for  them.  Such 
an  idea  is  outside  the  range  of  their  experience 
altogether.  One  of  the  first  sentences  I  learnt  in 
the  Arabic  language  was,  "  Ana  ahubkum  "  (I  love 
you  all),  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and 

229 


necessary  phrases  to  be  learnt.  Love  is  the  magic 
key  which  opens  a  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  Moslem 
women,  and  which  brings  forth  much  fruit  in  return. 
It  is  sad  to  think  that  these  women,  who  are  en- 
dowed with  such  great  possibilities  of  loving,  should 
be  condemned  to  live  their  lives,  aye,  and  die  too, 
without  one  spark  of  love  to  brighten  and  cheer 
them  through  the  weary  years  of  their  lives.  Sad, 
too,  that  their  favoured  sisters  of  England  should  be 
content  that  these  things  should  remain  so.  Who 
is  to  tell  them  of  love  if  we  do  not?  They  know 
nothing  of  the  God  of  Love,  who  looks  in  pity 
and  compassion  on  their  stricken  lives.  They  only 
know  of  a  God  who  is  inexorably  hard  and  unfeel- 
ing, who  holds  the  destiny  of  each  life  in  His  hand, 
and  against  whom  it  is  no  use  repining,  for  "  What 
is  written  is  written." 

Mohammed  says  in  the  Koran,  "  The  noblest  of 
you  in  the  sight  of  God  is  he  who  most  doth  fear 
Him." 

Truly  has  it  been  said  that  the  God  of  the 
Mohammedans  is  an  Oriental  despot. 


230 


CHAPTER    VI 


No  home  life  —  Women  down-trodden  —  Evils  of  divorce  —  Naseeb  — 
The  will  of  God—  Truth  and  falsehood  —  Honesty  prevalent  —  A  thief 
caught  —  Swearing  and  anti-swearing  —  Fighting,  hair-tearing,  and  biting 
—  Hammams,  the  Ladies'  Club. 

"  The  heart  of  a  woman  is  given  to  folly." 

ARABIC  PBOVERB. 

"  May  Allah  never  bless  womankind." 

QUOTATION  PROM  MOSLEM  AUTHOR. 

"  The  Very  God  !  think,  Abib,  dost  thou  think  ? 
So,  the  All-Great,  were  the  All-Loving  too  — 
So,  through  the  Thunder  comes  a  human  voice 
Saying,  '  Oh,  heart  I  made,  a  heart  beats  here  ! 
Face,  my  hands  fashioned,  see  it  in  myself  ! 
Thou  hast  no  power  nor  mayst  conceive  of  mine, 
But  love  I  gave  Thee,  with  Myself  to  love, 
And  Thou  must  love  me,  who  have  died  for  thee.'  " 

R.  BROWNING. 


is  no  "  home  life,"  such  as  we  understand 
JL  the  term,  in  Mosul.  The  word  "  beit  "  (house) 
is  the  only  one  in  the  Arabic  language  used  for  de- 
scribing a  home.  It  would  indeed  be  mockery  to  call 
such  by  the  sacred  name  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
English  people. 

In  a  book  lately  published  in  Cairo  the  author,  a 
well-known  and  clever  Moslem  writer,  says  :  "  Man 
is  the  absolute  master  and  woman  the  slave.  She  is 
the  object  of  his  sensual  pleasures,  a  toy  as  it  were 
with  which  he  plays  whenever  and  however  he  pleases. 

231 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

Knowledge  is  his,  ignorance  is  hers.  The  firmament 
and  the  light  are  his,  darkness  and  the  dungeon  are 
hers.  His  is  to  command,  hers  is  blindly  to  obey. 
His  is  everything  that  is,  and  she  is  an  insignificant 
part  of  that  everything."  This  being  the  sentiment 
of  every  Moslem  man,  is  it  any  wonder  that  there  is 
no  happiness  or  mutual  regard  in  the  family  life  ? 
The  men  look  upon  the  women,  and  treat  them,  as 
little  better  than  brutes ;  then  when  they  become  so, 
turn  and  revile  them.  They  keep  their  heels  firmly 
planted  on  women's  necks  and  then  dare  them  to  rise. 
A  man  may  be  as  vile  as  he  likes  himself,  but  the 
moment  he  suspects  one  of  his  hareem  of  misconduct 
there  is  nothing  but  death,  or  mutilation  which  is 
worse  than  death,  for  the  offender. 

A  woman  once  came  to  the  hospital  who  always 
insisted  on  keeping  her  face  entirely  covered  with  the 
exception  of  the  eyes ;  I  soon  found  that  the  reason 
of  this  was  because  her  nose  and  lips  were  missing. 
These  members  had  been  cut  off  in  a  rage  by  an 
infuriated  son-in-law,  who  declared  that  this  woman 
had  intrigued  with  his  wife  in  allowing  another  man 
to  enter  the  hareem  in  his  absence.  This  is  a  hus- 
band's ordinary  method  of  wreaking  revenge  on  any 
of  his  women  folk  whom  he  suspects  of  being  false 
to  him.  This,  or  death. 

The  facility  with  which  a  man  is  able  to  divorce 
his  wife  is  a  great  source  of  trouble  to  the  women. 
They  never  feel  secure  in  the  hearts  of  their  husbands, 
knowing  that  at  any  moment  he  may  tire  of  them 
and  send  them  adrift. 

When  a  woman  is  divorced  she  returns  as  a  rule 
to  her  mother's  house ;  but  should  she  have  no  rela- 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

tion  at  hand  to  whom  she  can  appeal  for  protection, 
her  condition  is  deplorably  sad. 

A  man  may  divorce  his  wife  in  a  fit  of  anger  and 
receive  her  back  the  next  day  if  he  so  desire ;  this 
may  occur  twice,  but  if  he  pronounces  the  fatal  words 
"  I  divorce  thee  "  three  times  the  divorced  wife  may 
not  be  taken  back  till  she  has  been  married  to  another 
man  for  a  time  and  he  also  has  divorced  her  ;  then  her 
former  husband  may  marry  her  again  if  he  wishes. 
This  is  one  of  the  good  (?)  laws  of  Mohammed  the 
Prophet,  and  needs  no  comment. 

When  a  woman  is  divorced  the  husband  can  claim 
the  children  if  he  desires ;  if  not,  the  wife  is  allowed 
to  retain  them.  Should  she  marry  again  the  poor 
children  are  often  left  to  look  after  themselves  as 
best  they  can.  As  a  rule  the  new  husband  does  not 
wish  to  bear  the  expense  of  the  children  belonging  to 
his  wife's  former  husband.  If,  however,  he  should 
consent,  and  the  two  families  are  brought  up  together, 
the  result  is  generally  not  conducive  to  peace  of 
mind.  One  of  our  servants  in  Mosul  had  a  little  boy 
five  years  of  age ;  having  divorced  the  boy's  mother, 
he  looked  about  for  another  wife,  and  finally  selected 
one  who  had  already  been  divorced  and  was  the 
mother  of  a  boy  four  years  old.  The  two  boys  now 
live  together,  and  are  a  fruitful  source  of  friction 
between  husband  and  wife.  A  short  time  ago  the 
mother  came  to  our  compound  early  in  the  morning 
looking  dishevelled  and  angry,  saying  that  her  hus- 
band had  turned  her  out  of  the  house  at  midnight, 
refusing  to  admit  her  again.  On  inquiring  into  the 
matter  we  found  that  the  root  of  the  quarrel  lay 
in  the  fact  that  the  man  was  jealous  of  his  wife's 

233 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

treatment  of  her  own  boy,  declaring  that  he  had  only 
married  her  to  look  after  his  boy.  He  divorced  her  ; 
but  acting  on  our  suggestion  forgave,  and  reinstated 
her  in  his  hareem. 

A  short  time  ago  a  woman  came  to  me  in  great 
distress  with  her  tale  of  sorrow.  I  had  known  her 
for  some  months,  and  loved  her  very  much.  She 
was  the  mother  of  two  fine  boys  and  a  girl.  When 
the  girl  was  about  eighteen  months  old  the  mother 
became  very  ill.  The  doctor  attended  her  for  some 
days,  but  finally  gave  up  all  hope  of  her  recovery. 
As  a  last  resource,  however,  some  stringent  means 
were  used  which,  with  God's  blessing,  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  the  woman  began  to  recover.  So  near 
death  had  she  been,  that  the  neighbours  came  to 
the  house  inquiring  what  time  the  funeral  would 
take  place  !  The  husband,  a  "  mullah  "  (priest),  never 
came  near  her  the  whole  time  of  her  illness,  and  the 
first  news  the  poor  woman  heard  on  her  recovery 
was  that  he  intended  taking  another  wife,  doubt- 
less thinking  that,  after  such  a  severe  illness,  she 
would  not  be  of  much  use  to  him  for  some  long 
time. 

As  soon  as  she  could  walk  she  came  to  tell  me 
her  trouble,  and  to  ask  me  what  I  should  advise  her 
to  do.  I  told  her  that,  if  I  were  in  her  place,  I 
should  leave  the  man  altogether.  This,  she  said, 
she  could  not  do,  as  it  would  mean  separation  from 
her  children.  Finally,  she  concluded  that  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do  but  to  go  back  to  her  husband 
and  submit  to  his  will.  This  she  did,  and  I  saw 
her  there  before  we  left ;  but  such  a  different  face 
greeted  me  to  the  sweet  one  of  old.  Misery,  dis- 

234 


content,  and  anger  were  depicted  there  instead  of 
content  and  happiness.  Up  to  the  time  of  her  ill- 
ness she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  frequently  coming 
to  see  me :  now  her  husband  forbade  her  to  do  so 
any  more.  The  week  before  we  left,  however,  she 
turned  up  again  with  a  bad  abscess  on  her  leg,  for 
which  she  gave  continual  praise  to  God,  saying 
repeatedly,  "  Alhamd'llillah.  God  sent  me  this 
bad  leg  in  order  that  I  may  come  to  you " — her 
husband  not  objecting  to  her  coming  to  the  hospital 
to  be  treated,  but  only  when  she  came  to  the  house 
without  any  apparent  reason. 

A  Moslem  woman  has  very  little  hope  of  gaining 
Paradise.  Old  pictures  by  Mohammedan  artists 
always  represent  hell  as  being  full  of  women.  Their 
hope  of  gaining  Paradise  rests  a  great  deal  on  the 
will  of  their  husbands.  Some  holy  men  say,  "I 
don't  want  my  wives  in  heaven.  I  prefer  those 
provided  by  God  for  all  good  Moslems  from  amongst 
the  angels."  Yet,  if  you  question  the  women  about 
their  hope  for  the  future  life,  they  all  fervently  ex- 
press the  belief  that,  eventually,  they  will  have  a 
place  in  Paradise  afforded  them. 

Poor,  blind,  misguided  Moslem  women  of  Mosul 
and  other  Mohammedan  lands !  How  my  heart  aches 
for  them !  Will  no  one  heed  the  cry  of  anguish 
and  despair  which  goes  up  from  their  midst  ?  As 
we  think  of  their  lives  our  cry  can  only  be,  "  How 
long,  O  Lord,  how  long  will  these  things  be  ? " 

Women  are  great  believers  in  the  doctrine  of 
Naseeb  or  fatalism.  To  everything  that  comes  to 
them  they  bow  their  heads  in  submission  and  say, 
"Naseeb"  (fate). 

235 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

This  doctrine  often  leads  to  great  neglect  of 
children  and  invalids,  the  women  excusing  themselves 
by  saying,  "  Maktoob  "  (It  is  written).  It  often  rouses 
our  indignation  to  hear  this  oft-quoted  word  misapplied 
as  an  excuse  for  wrongdoing  or  selfish  desires. 

For  instance,  parents  will  enter  into  negotiations 
for  the  marriage  of  their  daughter  with  a  man  known 
to  be  an  evil  liver ;  then,  when  the  girl  is  suffering, 
maybe,  for  their  sins,  say  piously,  "Naseeb — Min 
Allah  "  (from  God).  "  Min  Allah  "  indeed  !  "  Min 
Shaitan  "  (from  Satan)  would  be  more  correct ! 

Then,  again,  it  is  somewhat  annoying  to  be  told 
it  is  "the  will  of  God"  that  your  horse  should  de- 
velop a  cough,  because  the  groom  neglected  to  cover 
him  when  standing  in  the  rain ;  or,  when  your  best 
china  tea-set  is  smashed,  you  would  rather  not  be 
told  it  is  "Naseeb"! 

Albeit  this  is  an  annoying  doctrine  to  the  Euro- 
pean at  times,  yet  it  certainly  helps  the  Eastern 
woman  to  bear  her  troubles  and  trials,  and  it  is 
good  for  her  to  have  this  at  command,  for  she  has 
nothing  else  to  aid  her.  To  sorrow,  loss,  bereave- 
ment, and  all  the  ills  that  human  nature  is  subject 
to,  the  Moslem  answers  always  "  Naseeb,"  or,  "  It  is 
the  will  of  God."  Should  their  children  die,  or  the 
locusts  destroy  the  crop,  it  is  "Naseeb."  Is  the 
weather  hot  or  cold,  dry  or  moist,  the  remark  is 
always  the  same,  "  Naseeb."  If  the  river  water  is 
filthy  and  they  choose  to  drink  it,  thus  contracting 
typhoid  or  one  of  the  hundred  other  ills  consequent 
on  drinking  such  water,  they  have  only  to  assure 
themselves  that  it  is  "  Naseeb,"  and  there  remains 
nothing  more  to  be  said  or  done.  It  is  easier  to 

236 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

say  "Naseeb"  than  to  take  the  trouble  to  filter  or 
boil  the  water  for  drinking. 

In  a  thousand  ways  this  belief  in  fatalism  is  con- 
venient to  the  lazy  or  careless  ones,  a  help  to  the 
over-burdened  and  weary,  who  know  no  other  suc- 
cour or  helper  in  time  of  need  or  sorrow,  while  it 
is,  in  some  cases,  a  blasphemous  libel  on  God,  blam- 
ing Him  for  what  is  really  a  sin  wilfully  indulged  in. 

As  in  Persia,  so  in  Mosul,  truth  plays  little  part 
in  the  characters  of  some  of  the  people.  They  have 
not  yet  learnt  to  value  God's  gift  as  expressed  by 
the  poet  Browning — 

"  God's  gift  was  that  man  should  conceive  of  Truth 
And  yearn  to  gain  it." 

It  is  strange  how  even  the  most  enlightened  find 
it  difficult  to  speak  the  truth  always,  and  corre- 
spondingly easy  to  tell  an  untruth.  A  boy  was 
once  found  out  in  a  fault  (quite  a  trivial  one),  but, 
when  questioned,  he  absolutely  denied  all  knowledge 
of  it,  until  he  was  confronted  by  one  who  had  been 
an  eye-witness  of  the  whole  scene.  Then  only  did 
he  confess,  adding,  "  I  said  with  my  lips  I  did  not  do 
it,  but  in  my  heart  I  confessed."  What  can  be  said 
to  people  whose  mind  is  capable  of  evolving  such 
ideas  ?  We  often  had  to  complain  of  dishonesty 
amongst  the  hospital  women  servants,  especially  of 
the  cook  for  petty  thefts,  such  as  eating  the  patients' 
food,  thus  causing  them  to  go  on  short  commons, 
unless  I  was  there  to  see  that  each  one  had  his  or 
her  proper  quantity.  One  day  I  was  crossing  the 
compound  before  superintending  the  distribution  of 
the  evening  meal  to  the  in-patients,  when,  as  I 

237 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

approached  the  kitchen,  I  distinctly  saw  the  cook 
helping  herself  most  liberally  to  the  food  out  of  the 
pot.  On  remonstrating  with  her,  she  indignantly 
denied  that  she  had  ever  tasted  a  morsel,  until 
I  made  her  open  her  mouth  and  reveal  to  the 
amused  onlookers  proof  positive  of  her  lies.  Even 
then  she  was  not  ashamed,  but  only  laughed  at  the 
idea  of  the  "  khatoun  "  finding  her  out. 

A  woman  will  bring  a  child  to  the  dispensary 
and  swear  that  it  is  her  child,  all  the  time  knowing 
that  the  real  mother  is  waiting  outside,  too  ashamed 
to  be  seen  coming  to  the  poor  people's  dispensary, 
but  not  wishing  to  pay  the  usual  doctor's  fee.  Or 
some  lady  from  a  high-class  hareem  will  dress  in  her 
servant's  clothes  and  come  to  the  dispensary,  posing 
as  a  poor  woman  who  cannot  afford  a  piastre  (2d.) 
for  her  medicine ! 

You  get  so  tired  of  always  hearing  lies  that  you 
begin  to  feel  it  is  no  use  to  question  people  at  all. 
I  do  not  wish  to  imply  that  there  is  no  truth  to  be 
found  in  Mosul ;  but  it  certainly  is  a  rare  and,  when 
found,  precious  virtue.  It  is  a  sad  fact,  too,  that 
the  natives  do  not  trust  or  believe  each  other,  know- 
ing that,  given  the  opportunity,  a  brother  will  cheat 
a  brother  or  a  son  his  father.  Every  one  is  sus- 
picious of  his  neighbour.  On  the  whole  the  people 
are  honest,  at  least  with  the  exception  of  the  many 
trifling  pilferings  always  to  be  expected  amongst 
the  servants. 

Some  of  them  are  rather  fond  of  "  eating  money  " 
entrusted  to  their  care.  We  had  two  or  three  ser- 
vants who  were  good  at  this.  They  would  come  to  me 

every  day  with  their  accounts,  receive  payment  for 

238 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

same,  but  instead  of  handing  over  the  money  to  the 
shopkeeper  would  calmly  appropriate  it  for  themselves, 
till  one  day  the  baker  or  butcher  leaves  a  message 
at  the  door  politely  asking  to  be  paid  for  past  favours. 
Then  the  culprit  is  sent  for,  and  acknowledges  having 
"  eaten  the  money." 

Another  servant  once  tried  to  steal  some  dolls 
from  a  box  lately  received  from  England  for  dis- 
tribution amongst  the  in-patients  of  the  hospital. 
He  had  helped  me  unpack  the  box  and  carry  the 
contents  to  the  storeroom,  pending  the  arrival  of 
Christmas  Day.  A  few  days  after  I  was  passing 
this  room,  and  hearing  a  rustling  inside  looked  to  see 
what  it  was,  but  seeing  the  door  still  locked  thought 
I  must  have  imagined  the  noise.  But  just  as  I  was 
passing  on  the  rustling  became  more  distinct,  and  I 
went  nearer  to  examine  more  closely  the  door,  and 
found  that,  while  the  lock  was  still  intact,  the  door 
had  been  lifted  bodily  off  its  hinges  and  then  care- 
fully replaced ! 

Calling  my  husband,  we  entered  the  room  and 
found  a  poor  frightened  man  trying  to  hide  himself 
under  the  pile  of  paper  and  sacking  which  had  been 
removed  from  the  box.  He  was  absolutely  shaking 
with  fear,  thinking  that  he  would  be  bastinadoed 
(beaten  on  the  feet  with  sticks)  or  imprisoned.  He 
declared  at  first  that  he  had  come  for  some  string, 
which  he  had  noticed  on  a  shelf,  to  mend  my  saddle ; 
but  finally  confessed  that  the  dolls  had  been  the 
object  of  his  visit.  About  six  small  ones  were  found 
in  his  pockets ;  he  had  wanted  them  for  his  children. 
We  told  him  that  if  he  had  only  asked  he  should 

have  had  one  given  him.     1  shall  never  forget  his 

289 


astonishment  when  my  husband  told  him  to  choose 
the  one  he  liked  best  and  take  it  to  his  little  girl. 
He  wept  for  joy  and  gratitude. 

Swearing  is  very  largely  indulged  in  by  men  and 
women  alike ;  it  seems  to  come  as  naturally  to  them  as 
swimming  to  a  duck.  Originally  the  words  "  wallah," 
"  yallah,"  "  billah,"  were  used  as  swear  expressions;  but 
are  now  looked  upon  more  as  ejaculations  equivalent 
to  our  "  good  gracious  ! "  "  goodness  ! "  &c. ;  the  real 
swear  words  being  "  wallahi,"  "  billahi,"  &c.  Some  of 
the  women  cannot  keep  the  expression  wallah  out  of 
their  conversation,  though  I  try  hard  to  persuade 
them  to  do  so.  For  instance,  a  visitor  comes ;  you 
remark  to  her  on  the  extreme  heat.  "  Wallah," 
comes  the  answer,  "it  is  hot ! "  Or  you  inquire 
after  some  member  of  her  family.  "  Wallah,  she  is 
very  ill,"  is  the  reply. 

I  was  visiting  one  day  in  a  Moslem  house,  and 
the  old  mother-in-law  said  to  me,  "  What  has  hap- 
pened to  X.  ?  "  mentioning  her  daughter-in-law ;  "  she 
never  swears  now !  "  I  was  indeed  thankful  for  this 
unexpected  tribute  to  that  woman's  efforts.  We 
started  an  anti-swearing  society  amongst  a  few  of  the 
women ;  it  was  quite  funny  to  see  how  they  endea- 
voured to  keep  back  the  old  familiar  words  which 
had  been  on  their  lips  since  childhood. 

One  little  boy  joined  with  the  women,  and  he 
found  it  hardest  of  all ;  but  when  we  left  he  was  still 
persevering.  He  learnt  the  Ten  Commandments  by 
heart,  so  whenever  I  heard  him  use  a  swear  word  I 
made  him  repeat  the  third  commandment. 

The  women  are  terribly  fond  of  couching  their 
denials  in  the  form  of  oaths,  as  "  May  my  hand  be 

240 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

broken,"  "May  I  become  blind,"  "  May  my  interior 
become  dried  up  if  I  did  such  and  such  a  thing ! " 
It  makes  me  shiver  sometimes  to  hear  them  swearing 
to  a  lie  in  this  way  ;  and  I  often  tell  them  that  if  God 
only  took  them  at  their  word,  they  would  be  stricken 
blind  many  times  over. 

It  is  not  an  unknown  thing  for  women  to  resort 
occasionally  to  fighting  as  a  pastime,  but  I  am 
thankful  to  say  I  have  not  seen  much  of  it.  A 
woman  came  to  the  Dispensary  once  with  a  fearful- 
looking  hand :  the  thumb  was  about  six  times  its 
normal  size  and  had  become  gangrenous.  My  hus- 
band said  the  only  possible  cure  was  amputation  ;  to 
this  the  woman  would  not  consent.  She  said  that  a 
short  time  before  she  had  been  fighting  with  another 
woman,  who  had  bitten  her  thumb  in  her  fury.  I 
asked  this  woman  what  she  had  done  to  her  opponent. 
"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  only  pulled  out  her  hair  ! " 

Another  woman  once  brought  me  quite  a  handful 
of  hair  to  show,  which  she  declared  her  husband  had 
just  pulled  out  of  her  head  in  his  anger ;  while  he  at 
the  same  time  exhibited  several  ugly  wounds  on  his 
hand  caused  by  his  wife's  teeth !  The  man  vowed 
he  would  divorce  her,  refusing  to  listen  to  any  sugges- 
tions as  to  forgiveness,  saying,  "  What  would  my 
neighbours  say  of  me  if  I  kept  for  my  wife  a  woman 
who  would  do  that  ? "  pointing  to  the  bites  on  his 
hand.  However,  in  the  end  he  did  consent  to  take 
her  back,  being  on  the  whole  an  amicably  disposed 
man.  Can  we  wonder  that  these  things  should 
happen  when  neither  the  men  nor  the  women  have 
ever  learnt  to  control  their  passions  ?  We  have 
glanced  at  the  lives  of  the  Moslem  women  of  Mosul. 

241  Q 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

Can  we  say  that  they  lead  an  ennobling,  beautiful 
life  ?  Are  the  home  influences  such  as  to  foster  a 
happy,  peaceful  spirit?  On  the  contrary,  we  have 
seen  that  a  woman  deserves  our  pity  and  sympathy 
for  all  the  sorrow  she  has  to  endure. 

Have  we  not  seen  that  at  birth  she  is  unwelcome, 
as  a  child  uncared-for  and  untaught,  as  a  young 
woman  imprisoned  behind  the  veil,  as  a  wife  unloved, 
as  a  mother  unhonoured ;  and  when  her  weary  life 
draws  to  a  close  she  knows  that  she  will  go  to  her 
grave  unmourned.  Such  in  brief  outline  is  the  life 
of  a  Moslem  woman. 

A  woman's  one  place  of  recreation  is  the  hammam. 
It  is  indeed  a  kind  of  ladies'  club ;  here  she  throws 
away  for  the  time  being  all  her  home  worries  and 
troubles,  enjoying  thoroughly  her  few  hours  of  liberty. 
As  a  rule  the  bath  takes  at  least  two  hours,  and  often 
half  a  day,  if  the  woman  has  no  special  demands  on 
her  time.  She  generally  goes  in  the  morning,  taking 
with  her  a  complete  change  of  raiment,  a  mat  to  sit 
upon  in  the  cooling  chamber,  and  plenty  of  towels, 
also  some  food  to  be  partaken  of  after  the  exertions 
of  the  bath  are  over.  I  once  went  to  one  of  these 
hammams,  but  the  heat  was  so  intense  that  I  could 
only  stand  it  for  a  few  minutes.  I  often  wonder  how 
ever  the  women  can  exist  in  such  great  heat  for 
so  long ;  I  suppose  it  is  because  they  are  used  to  it. 
Many  illnesses  date  from  a  visit  to  the  hammam  ;  but 
still  they  would  not  give  it  up  for  any  consideration, 
thinking  it  quite  impossible  to  take  a  bath  in  the 
house.  Certainly  the  Turkish  bath  is  much  cleaner 
than  the  Persian  one.  In  the  latter  a  large  tank  is 
used,  and  as  it  costs  a  good  deal  to  warm  up,  the 

242 


MOSLEM    FAMILY    LIFE 

water  is  not  changed  very  often.  In  the  Turkish 
hammam  each  person  has  a  tap  for  herself,  from  which 
flows  presumably  clean  water.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
sometimes  this  water  has  already  been  used,  but  only 
in  the  cheaper  hammams.  The  most  expensive  baths 
have  river  water  brought  up  for  the  purpose ;  in  the 
others  well  water  is  used,  and  as  this  is  brackish  and 
very  hard  it  is  impossible  to  use  soap,  for  it  will  not 
lather ;  therefore  a  special  kind  of  earth  is  used,  which 
is  said  to  be  veiy  good  for  washing  the  hair  with. 

When  Judy,  our  woman  servant,  returns  from  the 
bath,  she  always  comes  and  gives  me  a  kiss,  this  being 
their  custom,  and  we  exchange  the  salutations  usual 
upon  any  one  returning  from  the  hammam. 


243 


CHAPTER   VII 

CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

Wedding   ceremonies — Great  expense   to  parents — Method  of  procedure — 
Funeral  customs — Customs  at  birth — Some  other  customs. 

"  The  bridegroom's  doors  are  open  wide, 
And  I  am  next  of  kin  ; 
The  guests  are  met,  the  feast  is  set ; 
May'st  hear  the  merry  din." 

S.  T.  COLERIDGE. 

WE  have  seen  that  a  wedding  is  a  very  expen- 
sive matter  in  Mosul,  especially  to  parents 
who  possess  three  or  four  daughters  ;  for  unless  the 
necessary  gold,  jewellery,  and  clothing  are  forth- 
coming as  a  dowry,  the  marriage  will  never  take 
place.  For  this  reason  a  man  with  a  number  of 
daughters  will  begin  saving  for  their  marriage  portion 
and  expenses  while  the  girl  is  yet  a  baby,  and  the 
mothers  will  often  commence  gathering  together 
clothing  even  before  the  child  is  betrothed,  so  that 
they  may  be  better  prepared  for  the  expensive  event 
when  it  does  take  place. 

Then,  too,  not  only  is  there  the  outlay  for  the 
dowry  and  clothing,  but  also  for  the  feasting  of  some 
hundreds,  it  maybe,  of  guests  during  the  seven  days 
following  the  marriage.  A  man  of  very  fair  means 
in  Mosul  once  told  me  that  the  marriage  of  his 
daughters  cost  him  at  least  £200  each,  and  as  he  had 
seven  daughters  the  sum  total  required  was  not  small. 

244 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

If  this  man  with  a  good  income  found  it  hard  work 
to  produce  the  necessary  cash,  how  much  harder  is 
it  for  those  who  have  no  settled  income,  or  whose 
earnings  are  small.  For  instance,  a  native  Christian 
whom  we  respected  and  liked  very  much  had  two 
daughters ;  both  were  betrothed  and  ready  to  be 
married.  He  was  earning  about  £3  a  month,  and 
had  a  wife  and  six  children  to  support — how  could 
he  provide  all  the  necessary  gold  and  other  ornaments 
for  his  girls  ?  And  yet,  if  he  did  not,  in  all  proba- 
bility his  daughters  would  never  be  married.  There 
was  only  one  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  that  was 
to  borrow  at  high  interest,  crippling  himself  for  many 
years  to  come,  perhaps  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  In- 
stances might  be  multiplied,  but  I  think  enough  has 
been  said  to  show  that  girls  are  expensive  luxuries 
in  Mosul  as  regards  their  weddings  !  Now  as  to  the 
"  preparations  "  for  the  great  and  eventful  day. 

When  a  man  makes  up  his  mind  to  be  married, 
or  his  parents  decide  in  their  minds  that  it  is  high 
time  their  son  should  take  to  himself  a  wife,  many 
are  the  consultations  which  take  place,  and  great  is 
the  importance  of  the  women  folk  concerned.  They 
are  never  so  happy  as  when  arranging  for  a  marriage, 
loving  the  mystery  and  secrecy  of  it ;  for  it  would 
never  do  for  a  fond  mother  to  offer  the  hand  of  her 
dear  son  in  marriage  to  the  mother  of  a  possible  bride 
and  be  refused.  The  shame  and  ignominy  would  be 
too  great ;  so  the  mother  and  other  female  relations 
of  the  would-be  bridegroom  have  to  go  very  carefully 
to  work  in  selecting  the  girl  and  in  making  any  pro- 
posal for  marriage.  Before  the  actual  "asking"  is 

done,  the  way  has  to  be  prepared  by  very  careful 

245 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

hints  and  indirect  inquiries  as  to  the  girl's  health, 
accomplishments,  and  dowry.      If  all   proves  satis- 
factory, then  a  formal  proposal  is  made.     The  matter 
having  gone  so  far,  a  refusal  is  very  unusual,  and,  if 
given,  is  considered  a  great  insult.     I  heard  of  one 
young  man  who  threatened  to  murder  all  the  rela- 
tions of  a  girl  for  whom  he  had  made  proposals  of 
marriage  upon  her  parents  refusing  to  accept  his  offer. 
I  have  often  been  asked  by  Moslem  women  to 
suggest  some  girl  as  a  suitable  bride  either  for  their 
brother  or  son.     On  mentioning  some  girls  whom  I 
knew,   their   answers   were   something    as    follows : 
"  Oh,  but  she  has  a  white  patch  on  her  eye,"  or  "  She 
is  too  poor,"  or  "  She  has  a  bad  temper,"  or  "  She  is 
not  pretty."     Their  idea  of  beauty  is  that  of  a  white, 
pasty,  fat  face,  without  a  vestige  of  colour,  except 
that  which  art  applies !     Of  course,  the  man  never 
sees  the  girl  till  the  day  of  betrothal,  and  in  the 
case  of  Moslems  not  till  the  actual  marriage  takes 
place.     The  old  custom  amongst  the  Christians  of 
marrying  a  girl  against  her  will  is  still  extant  in 
some  villages.      Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  girl 
persists  in  her  dislike  to  marry,  even  till  the  priest 
has  arrived  to  tie  the  knot :  in  this  case  the  father 
would  bind  the  girl's  arms  and  legs  till  the  marriage 
ceremony  was  completed,  when  she  was  released,  it 
being  useless  then  for  further  resistance  on  her  part. 
This  is  done  even  now  in  some  villages  near  Mosul 
when  the  girl  proves  obstinate.     As  a  rule,  though, 
they  accept  their  fate  as  "  Naseeb,"  knowing  it  is 
little  or  no  use  to  struggle  against  custom.     How 
often  my  heart  aches  for  some  poor  child  who  is 
bound  to  a  man  old  enough  to  be  her  grandfather 

246 


A  Mosui, 

The  girl  in  the  centre  of  the  picture  is  a  Christian  bride  decked  out  in  her  wedding  costume. 
The  gold  coins,  necklaces,  and  girdle  are  her  dowry. 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

or  great-grandfather  sometimes.  Alas,  too  often  old 
in  sin  as  well  as  years  ! 

When  the  day  of  the  marriage  approaches,  invi- 
tations .are  sent  out  to  all  friends  and  relations  for 
the  specified  days  of  feasting.  First  comes  the  day 
for  taking  the  bride  to  the  bath — this  is  considered  a 
great  function ;  then  follows  a  week  of  excitement, 
dancing,  singing,  feasting,  all  forming  part  of  the 
great  event.  All  thoroughly  enjoy  themselves,  even 
those  who  have  to  work  the  hardest  in  preparing 
the  food.  The  guests  are  expected  to  remain  from 
morning  till  sunset.  Three  meals  are  provided  each 
day,  the  morning  one  consisting  of  bread,  cream, 
butter,  fruit,  &c. ;  the  midday  meal  is  a  substantial 
one  of  meat,  cooked  in  various  ways,  rice,  chicken, 
and  vegetables  according  to  the  season.  The  even- 
ing meal  is  also  a  very  heavy  one,  causing  the 
guests  to  depart  perfectly  satisfied  both  with  their 
dinner  and  themselves. 

During  the  whole  of  the  week  the  poor  bride 
has  to  sit  in  the  reception  room  on  a  cushion  speci- 
ally prepared  for  brides,  and  takes  no  part  in  the 
surrounding  gaieties.  Each  day  she  appears  in  a 
fresh  silk  dress,  and  is  often  covered  with  golden 
jewellery.  She  is  not  supposed  to  speak  till  spoken 
to,  and  the  guests  do  not  take  much  notice  of  her 
beyond  the  usual  kiss  of  salutation.  At  meal  times 
she  is  "  fed  "  by  her  relations,  a  bride  being  supposed 
to  be  too  overcome  to  help  herself  or  eat  without 
assistance. 

After  the  days  of  feasting  are  over,  the  bride 
takes  her  place  in  the  house  as  "servant"  to  her 
mother-in-law.  In  a  Moslem  house  the  youngest 

247 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

and  latest  bride  always  becomes  the  servant  of  all 
for  the  first  year  of  married  life,  or  till  another  and 
younger  one  is  brought  to  the  home.  Much  depends 
on  the  mother-in-law's  character  as  to  the  happiness 
or  otherwise  of  the  inmates  of  the  hareem.  If  they 
wish,  they  can  make  the  lives  of  the  young  wives 
perfectly  miserable,  or  the  reverse. 

The  same  custom  of  feasting  for  a  certain  number 
of  days  takes  place  too  in  connection  with  funerals. 
The  guests  who  come  to  mourn  sit  in  solemn  silence 
all  day  long ;  their  mourning  does  not  lessen  their 
appetite,  however,  for  they  thoroughly  enjoy  their 
"  feast "  of  sorrow.  After  a  death,  the  "  wailers  "  are 
brought  in.  I  went  once  to  a  Christian  house  of 
mourning  to  see  these  wailing  women.  It  was  a 
ghastly  sight.  The  professional  wailers  sat  on  the 
ground  in  the  centre  of  the  relations  and  guests,  and 
worked  themselves  and  others  into  such  a  frenzy 
that  I  thought  some  would  have  fainted  from  ex- 
haustion ;  slapping  their  knees,  tearing  their  hair 
and  clothes,  till  they  resembled  maniacs  more  than 
women. 

A  short  time  ago  a  very  sad  and  sudden  death 
took  place  in  Mosul  in  a  house  very  close  to  us. 
We  were  awakened  one  night,  while  sleeping  on  the 
roof,  by  hearing  the  terrible  wailing  sounds  coming 
from  our  neighbour's  house.  At  the  same  time  a 
messenger  arrived  in  great  haste,  asking  my  husband 
to  go  at  once  to  see  the  patient,  as  his  relatives  were 
not  sure  if  he  was  dead  or  only  in  a  fit.  He  had 
been  out  during  the  night  to  some  Moslem  religious 
function,  and  died  quite  suddenly  on  his  return. 

The  wailing  went  on  in  the  hareem  for  seven  days, 

248 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

and  was  terrible  to  hear.  The  sound  of  the  weird 
wailing  of  some  hundred  women  is  perfectly  in- 
describable, always  ending  up  with  a  piercing  shriek 
which  seems  to  rend  the  air  and  freeze  one's 
blood. 

Being  friends  and  neighbours,  I  paid  daily  visits 
to  the  mourners  during  that  week,  but  did  not  sit 
amongst  the  guests,  preferring  to  spend  the  time 
with  the  sisters  of  the  deceased  in  a  quiet  room 
above  the  din  and  uproar  of  the  courtyard.  The 
wailing  has  such  a  hopeless  sound,  as  of  a  lost  soul 
in  anguish.  One  longed  for  them  to  know  of  Jesus 
the  Living  One,  and  of  the  time  when  partings  shall 
be  no  more. 

After  death  has  visited  a  family,  the  whole  house 
in  which  the  departed  one  lived  is  not  swept  for 
three  days  :  this  is  because  they  believe  that  the 
angel  of  death  is  still  hovering  near,  and  they  fear 
lest,  while  they  are  sweeping,  others  of  the  household 
may  be  swept  from  the  house  by  the  angel.  So  the 
house  becomes  very  dirty,  the  carpets  covered  with 
cigarette  ash  and  ends,  but  nothing  can  be  touched 
till  the  third  day  is  safely  passed. 

Amongst  the  Christians  it  is  also  the  custom  after 
the  death  of  a  relative,  not  to  go  to  the  hammam 
(bath)  for  six  months,  and  for  the  men  to  go  un- 
shaven for  at  least  six  weeks.  The  women  are  very 
particular  about  not  going  to  the  hammam  while 
mourning,  as  I  found  to  my  sorrow.  Our  woman 
servant  Judy  lost  her  father  just  before  she  entered 
our  service,  and  she  allowed  a  whole  year  to  elapse 
before  she  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  go  to  the  bath. 
They  are  very  particular,  too,  about  wearing  "  deep  " 

249 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

clothing — that  is,  dresses  of  some  dark  colour,  not 
necessarily  black. 

I  am  sure  that  the  custom  of  burying  a  few  hours 
after  death  is  often  the  cause  of  many  people  being 
buried  alive.  I  have  often  been  regaled  by  an  old 
woman  with  horrible  stories  of  how  some  friends  of 
hers  have  just  escaped  being  buried  alive.  For  those 
who  providentially  escape  being  entombed  alive  one 
is  thankful;  but  what  of  the  many  who  most  cer- 
tainly are  condemned  to  this  awful  fate.  It  is  too 
terrible  to  contemplate.  In  a  land  where  no  medical 
certificates  are  required,  and  where  the  body  is  carried 
to  the  cemetery  almost  before  it  is  cold,  how  can  it 
be  otherwise  ? 

But  to  proceed  to  other  and  more  pleasing  cus- 
toms— let  us  pass  from  death  to  life.  When  a  child 
is  born  in  Mosul,  whether  Moslem  or  Christian,  the 
first  idea  of  the  parents  is  to  protect  the  child  from 
the  baneful  influence  of  the  Evil  Eye.  The  usual 
custom  is  to  thread  a  gall,  and  suspend  it  round  the 
neck  of  the  infant.  Moslems  enclose  a  portion  of 
the  Koran  in  a  little  bag,  and  fasten  that  round  the 
arm  of  the  child  or  sew  it  on  to  the  cap.  The 
custom  of  wearing  charms  to  avert  the  Evil  Eye  is 
very  prevalent,  and  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of 
the  Mosul  people. 

The  kissing  of  hands  is  a  very  pretty  custom. 
Children  are  all  taught  to  do  this  even  before  they 
can  speak  or  walk.  Servants  are  always  very 
anxious  to  kiss  your  hands  after  they  have  done 
something  especially  annoying  or  irritating.  They 
make  a  grab  for  your  hand,  and  kiss  it  before  you 
realise  what  they  are  doing.  In  this  way  they 

250 


secure  your  forgiveness  before  the  fault  is  con- 
fessed. I  am  getting  more  wary  now,  and  prefer 
to  hear  first  what  they  have  done  before  letting 
them  kiss  my  hand.  It  is  also  a  sign  of  gratitude. 
Upon  receiving  any  backsheesh  or  present,  the  re- 
cipient is  always  ready  to  kiss  your  hand.  Some- 
times, when  riding  through  the  city,  I  have  had 
my  hand  grasped  and  kissed  by  some  passer-by 
who  has  been  an  in-patient  in  the  hospital,  and 
wished  to  show  his  gratitude  in  this  way.  It  re- 
quires a  great  deal  of  gratitude  or  love  for  a  man 
to  kiss  a  woman  s  hand,  so,  when  by  chance  it  does 
occur,  I  feel  very  much  honoured  indeed. 

There  is  one  custom  which  is  often  the  cause 
of  a  great  deal  of  heartburning,  even  as  it  was  in 
the  days  of  Haman  and  Mordecai.  It  is  usual 
for  a  host  or  hostess  to  rise  from  their  seat  upon 
the  arrival  of  each  guest — that  is,  if  they  desire  to 
do  honour  to  that  person.  As  a  rule  this  custom 
is  most  carefully  adhered  to,  but  it  lends  itself  ad- 
mirably to  any  one  wishing  to  be  rude  to  his  guest 
or  to  shame  him  before  his  friends.  Fortunately, 
this  is  not  often  the  case,  but  when  it  does  happen 
one  feels  very  uncomfortable.  There  is  one  dear 
old  lady  in  Mosul,  who  thinks  it  beneath  her  dignity 
to  rise  to  a  Feringhi.  But,  perhaps,  it  is  excusable 
for  her  as  she  is  a  Hadji — that  is,  one  who  has 
made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and,  consequently, 
is  treated  as  an  exalted  being  by  all  her  friends  and 
relations. 

A  rather  quaint  and  pleasing  custom  in  Mosul 
is  that  of  sending  trays  containing  a  dinner  all 

ready  cooked  and  dished  to  new-comers,  or  to  those 

251 


returning  after  a  long  period  of  absence.  We  did 
not  know  of  this  custom  when  first  we  went  to 
Mosul,  so  were  very  surprised  at  sunset  on  our 
second  day  after  arrival  to  see  two  or  three  men 
coming  into  the  compound  carrying  huge  trays  on 
their  heads.  They  explained  that  their  master,  a 
Moslem  merchant,  had  sent  this  meal,  with  many 
salaams  and  good  wishes.  It  was  a  dinner  large 
enough  for  twenty  people,  so  we  gathered  together 
all  we  could  find  on  the  premises,  assistants,  cate- 
chist,  and  others,  who  had  been  kindly  helping  us 
to  settle  down.  Spreading  some  Persian  carpets 
in  the  courtyard,  we  sat  down  and  thoroughly  en- 
joyed our  first  Arab  meal  in  Mosul. 

When  any  one  is  leaving  the  place  or  starting 
on  a  journey,  it  is  customary  for  the  people  to  send 
in  large  trays  containing  sweetmeats,  cakes,  and 
other  eatables  suitable  for  taking  with  you  on  the 
road.  When  we  were  leaving  Mosul,  we  received 
quite  a  large  number  of  these  trays — so  many,  in- 
deed, that  at  the  end  of  our  fourteen  days  of  desert 
we  still  had  a  good  many  of  their  contents  remain- 
ing. Some  of  these  were  made  of  almonds  pounded 
and  mixed  with  sugar ;  others  were  made  from  puff 
pastry  sandwiched  with  honey :  these  latter  were 
especially  nice. 

Distributing  food  to  the  poor  as  a  mark  of  grati- 
tude and  thankfulness  is  another  of  Mosul's  good 
customs.  After  recovering  from  a  dangerous  illness, 
it  is  usual  to  make  and  distribute  a  large  quantity 
of  bread,  baked  in  a  special  way,  and  flavoured  with 
caraway  seeds. 

The  birth  of  a  son  and  heir  is  also  celebrated 

252 


by  a  generous  and  lavish  distribution  of  meat  and 
bread.  When  starting  on  a  journey,  too,  it  is  usual 
to  give  away  to  the  poor  either  money  or  food.  On 
every  occasion  of  life  which  calls  for  gratitude  to 
God,  this  custom  of  presenting  offerings  to  the 
poor  is  carried  out.  One  dear  woman,  a  friend  of 
mine,  went  even  further  than  this.  It  was  thought 
at  one  time  that  we  should  be  leaving  Mosul  for 
good,  the  Mission  being  withdrawn.  Providentially, 
this  was  over-ruled,  and  when  the  news  arrived 
from  England  that  the  Mission  was  to  be  kept  on, 
great  were  the  rejoicings  amongst  the  people.  The 
woman  mentioned  above  immediately  desired  to 
show  her  thankfulness  to  God  in  a  very  special 
way,  so  spent  one  whole  day  in  making  a  large 
supply  of  small  loaves  of  bread,  not  to  distribute 
to  the  poor,  but  to  feed  the  hungry,  starving  dogs 
of  the  streets.  This  by  a  Moslem  woman  was, 
indeed,  a  work  of  love,  dogs  being  looked  upon 
as  unclean  beasts.  Surely  she  "that  loveth  much 
shall  be  forgiven  much." 

Coffee-making  and  drinking  is  associated  very 
much  with  life  in  Mosul.  It  is  the  custom  there 
to  give  every  one  who  comes  to  the  house  a  cup  of 
Arab  coffee.  This  meant  sometimes  for  us  giving 
at  least  200  cups  in  a  day.  Not  only  those  who 
come  as  social  visitors  receive  the  coffee,  but  also 
all  who  come  to  the  house  on  whatever  pretext, 
whether  for  meetings,  classes,  or  what  not.  At 
feast  times  one  servant  is  always  told  off  to  do 
nothing  else  but  prepare  the  coffee  for  the  guests, 
On  each  of  the  great  feasts,  such  as  Christmas  and 

Easter,  it  is  the  custom  for  every  one  to  call,  Mos- 

253 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

lems  and  Christians  alike.  At  Christmas  the  feast 
lasts  for  three  days,  and  at  Easter  a  week,  the  whole 
of  which  time  coffee  must  be  ready  to  be  handed  at 
once  to  every  caller ;  also  a  tray  of  sweets,  consist- 
ing of  Turkish  delight,  almond  sugar,  and  other 
Mosul-made  confections. 

When  a  house  is  "  mourning,"  bitter  coffee  is 
given  to  all  callers  for  six  months,  and  on  the  first 
day  of  each  feast  for  a  whole  year. 

I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  visited  a  Moslem 
house,  however  poor,  without  receiving  either  a 
cup  of  coffee  or  some  sweets.  I  often  beg  them 
not  to  make  preparations  for  me,  but  they  always 
insist,  as  their  hospitable  instincts  are  very  strong. 
Indeed,  more  often  than  not,  they  set  before  me 
not  only  coffee  or  sweets,  but  meat,  fruit,  and  lebban 
(sour  milk). 

A  true  Arab  of  the  desert  takes  about  an  hour 
to  make  a  cup  of  coffee.  First  of  all  the  coffee 
has  to  be  roasted,  then  ground  to  powder,  and, 
lastly,  boiled.  The  Arabs  never  sweeten  their 
coffee,  sugar  not  being  a  commodity  of  the  desert. 

I  once  heard  the  recipe  for  making  Arab  or 
Turkish  coffee.  Perhaps  some  readers  may  like  to 
try  their  hand  at  making  it. 

First  roast  the  coffee  to  a  rich  brown,  neither 
too  light  nor  too  dark,  then  grind  it  to  a  soft  powder. 
Now  comes  the  art  of  making  good  coffee.  Half- 
fill  the  pot  with  cold  water ;  bring  it  to  boiling 
point.  Throw  in  a  handful  of  powdered  coffee; 
allow  it  to  boil ;  shake  down  and  bring  it  to  the 
boil  again.  Repeat  this  process  three  times,  and 
the  coffee  is  ready.  Specially  note  :  Never  wash  the 

254 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

pot !  Needless  to  say,  this  last  injunction  I  do  not 
carry  out,  but  the  servants  quite  believe  in  that 
part  of  the  recipe.  It  is  only  with  great  difficulty 
I  can  persuade  them  to  wash  out  the  coffee-pot 
occasionally. 

In  summer,  this  reluctance  on  their  part  often 
leads  to  serious  complications.  The  kitchen,  as  may 
be  supposed,  is  not  a  very  cool  place  during  the  hot 
season,  consequently  it  suffers  continually  from  a 
plague  of  flies.  Dead  flies  are  often  served  up  in 
puddings  and  other  dishes,  to  act  presumably  as  an 
appetiser !  Then  eating  requires  a  great  effort.  The 
coffee-pot  seems  to  serve  as  a  trap  for  many  of  these 
flies,  attracted  no  doubt  by  the  sugar,  and  there  they 
find  a  coffee  grave.  Suddenly  a  visitor  is  announced, 
and  the  message  is  conveyed  to  the  kitchen  to  "  Send 
coffee  at  once."  The  cook  seizes  the  pot,  never 
looking  to  see  how  many  victims  are  struggling  in 
the  dregs  at  the  bottom,  adds  a  little  freshly-ground 
coffee,  boils  it  up,  and  sends  it  in  to  the  visitor 
served  in  dainty  little  cups.  The  visitor  takes  one  sip, 
and  .  .  .  !  I  will  draw  a  veil  over  the  sequel.  A 
mouthful  of  dead  flies  is  not  a  very  palatable  drink. 
My  feelings  may  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

Sometimes  a  guest  does  not  approve  of  the  way 
the  coffee  is  made  (even  when  minus  flies) ;  if  so, 
she  is  not  shy,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  hand  it  back 
with  a  grimace,  saying  to  your  servant :  "  What 
horrid  coffee  !  why  do  you  not  make  better  ? "  and 
often  demands  another  cup  properly  made. 

A  visit  to  the  bread-makers  may  not  be  out  of 
place  here.  It  is  the  custom  amongst  some  of  the 

people  to  bake  bread  once  a  month,  sufficient  to  last 

255 


CUSTOMS    OF    MOSUL 

that  length  of  time.  Baking-day  is  a  day  to  be 
dreaded.  The  process  begins  soon  after  midnight, 
when  the  woman  arrives  to  prepare  the  flour  and 
"  set  "  the  dough  for  rising.  The  whole  of  that  day 
every  woman  on  the  premises  is  pressed  into  service 
— one  to  make  the  dough  into  little  cakes,  another 
gives  it  a  preliminary  roll,  then  hands  it  to  her  neigh- 
bour, who  uses  a  smaller  roller,  and  finally  hands  it 
on  to  some  one  else  to  finish  it  off.  When  com- 
pleted, the  bread  is  about  as  thin  as  note-paper  and 
as  large  round  as  a  child's  wooden  hoop.  The  bread 
is  now  ready  to  be  baked.  The  fuel  used  for  heating 
the  oven  is  chopped  straw  and  goats'  dung,  which  is 
burnt  till  the  required  heat  is  obtained ;  then  these 
large  thin  pieces  of  bread  are  plastered  to  the  sides  of 
the  oven,  and  removed  as  they  are  browned  to  an 
exact  nicety.  This  bread  is  very  nice  when  fresh  and 
crisp ;  when  stale,  it  is  generally  soaked  in  water 
before  being  brought  to  the  table. 

We  do  not  make  our  bread  in  this  way.  I  tried 
it  once  for  the  hospital  in-patients,  but  found  it  took 
far  too  much  time.  The  daily  baking  is  much  more 
suitable  when  from  thirty  to  forty  people  have  to  be 
fed  daily. 


256 


CHAPTER   VIII 

DREAMS   AND   VISIONS 

Ezekiel's  vision  by  the  river  Chebar — Our  vision  by  the  river  Khabour— 
Rivers  identical — ' '  A  wheel  within  a  wheel  " — Babylonish  emblem  of 
divinity — Origin  of  the  cherubim — Dream  of  a  woman  suffering  from 
cataract — Effect  of  dream  on  her  character — Watch  and  chain  recovered 
by  means  of  a  "  faked  "  dream — Illustration  of  the  doctrine  of  Kismet 
or  Naseeb — "Ghosts"  in  our  compound — Atmosphere  of  ghosts  bad 
for  fowls. 

"  O  dreamer,  dream  thy  dream,  and  dream  it  true." 

SIR  LEWIS  MORRIS. 

"  Did  not  Heaven  speak  to  men  in  dreams  of  old  ?  " 

LORD  TENNYSON. 

"...  The  vision  of  my  soul 
Has  looked  upon  its  Sun  and  turns  no  more 
To  any  lower  light." 

SIB  LEWIS  MORRIS. 

DREAMS  and  visions  have  a  great  influence  on 
the  Eastern  mind.      They  believe  most  firmly 
that  God  often  speaks  by  means  of  these  agencies, 
using  them  as  a  warning  of  impending  danger,  or  as 
a  voice  of  instruction. 

Ezekiel  was  no  exception  to  this  rule,  for  we  read 
in  the  words  of  his  prophecy,  "  That  the  heavens  were 
opened,  and  I  saw  visions  of  God."  This  vision  was 
given  to  him  as  he  stood  by  the  river  Chebar  in  the 
land  of  the  Chaldeans.  The  river  Chebar  is  none 
other  than  the  Khabour,  over  which  we  have  passed 
more  than  once  in  our  "journeyings  oft."  When 

257  R 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

on  our  way  back  to  England  we  crossed  this  river, 
and  as  we  sat  near  its  banks,  even  as  Ezekiel  did  of 
old,  we  too  were  vouchsafed  a  "  vision  of  God." 

We  had  travelled  through  a  weary  stretch  of 
waterless  desert  that  day,  and  were  rejoicing  in  the 
fact  that  our  camping-ground  for  the  night  was  by 
the  banks  of  a  river — the  Chebar.  Only  those  who 
have  journeyed  for  days  through  a  parched-up  desert 
land  can  tell  the  joy  with  which  a  river  is  sighted. 
We  experienced  something  of  that  joy  on  the  evening 
when  we  saw  water  for  the  first  time  for  two  or  three 
days.  We  pitched  our  camp  as  close  to  the  river  as 
possible,  and,  sitting  at  our  tent  door,  prepared  to 
enjoy  to  the  full  the  beauties  before  us.  Looking 
up  I  saw  in  front  of  me  a  glorious  sight.  I  quickly 
called  my  husband,  and  together  we  stood  and 
watched  this  wonderful  vision.  The  sun  was  sinking 
as  a  ball  of  fire  behind  the  river,  when  suddenly  from 
its  centre  there  arose  beautiful  prismatic  lights. 
These  gradually  resolved  themselves  into  the  form 
of  a  huge  wheel,  each  spoke  of  the  wheel  being  of  a 
different  colour,  merging  gradually  and  almost  imper- 
ceptibly into  the  next,  as  in  the  rainbow.  Within 
this  "  wheel "  was  another  and  smaller  one,  also 
composed  of  the  same  prismatic  hues.  The  outer 
circle  of  each  wheel  was  formed  by  a  band  of  bright 
opaque  light.  On  the  top  of  these  wheels  was  a 
visionary  form  resembling  the  beginning  of  another 
wheel,  but  it  was  too  indistinct  for  me  to  say  what 
definite  shape  it  possessed.  At  either  side  of  these 
wheels  was  a  large  wing,  as  it  were  overshadowing 
the  wheels  ;  these  were  also  of  a  bright  white.  The 

whole  formed  a  most  wonderful  and  never  to  be 

258 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

forgotten  sight,  and  we  felt  indeed  that  this  was  a 
vision  of  God. 


While  in  Mosul  my  husband  had  received  a  letter 
from  a  gentleman  in  England,  asking  him  to  keep  a 
look-out  for  any  such  phenomenon  as  this.  On 
reaching  home  it  was  interesting  to  find  on  good 
authority  that  the  sight  we  had  seen  on  the  banks  of 
the  Khabour  was  one  of  historical  interest.  The 
form  of  the  wheels  is  almost  identical  with  the 
emblem  which  the  Babylonians  adopted  to  represent 
Divinity.  On  the  same  authority  I  learnt,  too,  that 
in  all  probability  a  vision  similar  to  this  was  the 
origin  of  the  cherubims.  It  is  believed  by  an  expert 
on  the  subject  that  the  whole  of  the  "  vision  "  is 
caused  by  atmospheric  influences,  the  sun  acting  on 
the  particles  of  frost  in  the  air,  thus  forming  the 
prismatic  colours.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  result  was 
truly  marvellous,  and  we  were  thankful  that  we  had 
been  privileged  to  see  "  the  heavens  open,"  revealing 
this  vision  of  God. 

259 


The  whole  spectacle  could  not  have  lasted  more 
than  five  minutes,  but  the  sky  retained  its  blaze  of 
colour  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after;  then 
darkness  covered  the  heavens. 

The  natives  of  Mosul  are  great  believers  in  dreams, 
and  accept  them  as  good  or  bad  omens.  A  short 
time  ago  a  Moslem  woman  came  to  the  Dispensary 
suffering  from  double  cataract.  She  had  been  quite 
blind  for  many  years,  and  was  very  anxious  for  an 
operation,  saying  if  only  she  could  have  enough  sight 
to  sweep  the  compound  she  would  be  satisfied,  as 
then  she  could  earn  her  livelihood.  The  doctor,  after 
examining  her  eyes,  told  the  woman  that  he  could 
not  promise  her  a  good  result  from  the  operation,  as 
her  eyes  were  not  healthy.  However,  as  she  was 
absolutely  blind,  it  was  worth  while  to  try,  and  per- 
haps she  might  see  sufficiently  afterwards  to  find  her 
way  about.  Accordingly  she  was  admitted  to  the 
Hospital  to  await  her  time  for  operation.  She  was 
a  very  affectionate  woman,  and  seemed  to  be  gifted 
with  great  powers  of  intuition.  When  I  went  to  the 
door  of  the  ward,  even  before  I  spoke,  she  always 
called  out,  "  There's  my  khatoun  ! "  Sometimes  I 
crept  in  quietly  just  to  see  if  she  would  know  I  was 
present ;  she  almost  invariably  did,  and  sitting  up  in 
bed  would  listen  intently,  and  then  say  to  one  of  the 
other  patients,  "  Is  not  the  khatoun  here  ? "  Then 
when  she  felt  my  hand,  she  would  grasp  it  and  say, 
"  I  knew  it,  I  knew  it ;  I  felt  here  "  (pointing  to  her 
heart)  "  that  my  khatoun  was  in  the  room  ! "  She 
was  such  an  excitable  woman  that  my  husband  feared 
that  she  would  do  something  foolish  either  at  the 
time  of  the  operation  or  after.  He  warned  her  that 

260 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

if  she  did  not  keep  quiet  she  might  lose  her  eye  alto- 
gether ;  but  as  the  fateful  day  approached  she  became 
more  and  more  nervous.  One  morning,  however,  she 
appeared  quite  calm,  and  hastened  to  tell  us  the  reason 
of  her  peace  of  mind.  During  the  night  she  had 
seen  a  vision  which  had  quieted  all  her  fears  and 
made  her  trustful  and  believing. 

In  her  dream  she  seemed  to  be  walking  in  the 
desert,  where  she  met  a  mullah,  who  immediately 
began  to  revile  and  curse  her.  While  he  was  thus 
engaged  the  woman  saw  a  form  coming  towards  her 
which  she  knew  to  be  that  of  our  Lord  (Jesus  the 
Living  One.  as  He  is  called  in  Arabic).  He  began 
to  speak  gently  to  the  woman,  asking  her  why  she 
was  weeping ;  she  replied  by  telling  our  Lord  that 
the  mullah  had  been  cursing  her.  In  her  dream  she 
then  saw  (although  blind)  that  our  Lord  turned  to 
the  mullah  and  rebuked  him  for  cursing  the  woman. 
Then  turning  to  the  wondering  woman,  He  said,  "  Do 
not  weep,  my  daughter,  for  the  English  doctor  is  going 
to  give  you  sight  in  a  few  days,"  and  then  He  left  her. 
She  awoke  firmly  convinced  that  this  was  a  special 
revelation  from  God  through  Jesus  our  Lord  to  assure 
her  that  her  eyesight  was  to  be  restored.  From  that 
time  she  was  perfectly  calm  and  quiet,  and  remained 
so  the  whole  time  she  was  in  the  hospital.  The  day 
before  the  operation  she  was  again  warned  that  she 
might  not  see  any  better  after ;  but  she  smiled  and 
said,  "  To-morrow  I  shall  see  ! "  Her  faith  was  re- 
warded, as  the  operation  was  successful,  and  after  two 
or  three  weeks  she  went  out  with  very  good  vision  in 
one  eye,  and  she  is  waiting  for  our  return  to  have  the 

other  operated  upon. 

261 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

My  husband  was  once  travelling  "  chappa  "  (post) 
in  Persia  from  Yezd  to  Kerman,  when  one  evening  he 
found  to  his  great  sorrow  that  he  had  lost  his  gold 
watch  and  chain.  Both  were  very  valuable  to  him 
on  account  of  their  associations,  so  he  was  very  sad 
at  the  thought  of  losing  them.  The  same  night  he 
met  another  Englishman  who  was  returning  to  Yezd. 
He  told  him  of  his  loss,  and  asked  him  to  make 
inquiries  along  the  road,  offering  a  reward  to  any  one 
who  would  bring  back  his  watch  and  chain.  His 
friend  promised  to  do  all  he  could,  and,  calling  his 
servant,  explained  to  him  about  the  loss,  and  told 
him  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  for  any  news  of  the  lost 
goods.  This  servant  was  a  very  smart  man.  The 
next  morning  they  met  a  camel  caravan  on  the  road 
to  Kerman,  and  the  servant  went  up  to  the  driver 
and  said  to  him — 

"  Oh,  my  noble  brother,  may  your  kindness  never 
grow  less ;  my  sleep  has  been  troubled  last  night  by 
dreams  of  you." 

"  Estakfarullah  !  "  (God  forbid),  says  the  camel- 
driver.  "  Why  was  my  lord's  sleep  disturbed  by 
dreams  of  me,  who  am  not  worthy  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  I  saw  in  my  dream  that  you  stooped  and 
picked  up  something." 

"  Then  your  dream  was  wrong,"  hastily  interposed 
the  camel-driver,  "  for  I  have  picked  up  nothing." 

"  And  lo  !  in  my  dream,"  continued  the  wily  ser- 
vant, "  I  saw  that  the  thing  which  you  picked  up 
was  worthless,  only  a  cheap  thing  which  will  bring 
you  no  gain."  The  camel-driver  here  looking  sad, 
the  servant  continued  :  "  But  the  owner  of  that  worth- 
less thing  is  very  anxious  to  find  it,  as  although  of 

262 


DREAMS*  AND    VISIONS 

no  value  in  money,  yet  he  cherishes  it  as  a  thing  he 
loves." 

"  But  1  told  you,"  repeats  the  camel-driver,  "  that 
I  never  picked  up  anything." 

"  Then  in  my  dream,"  continues  the  servant,  care- 
fully ignoring  the  reiterated  denial  of  the  camel- 
driver,  "  I  saw  you  glance  at  this  useless  object  in 
your  hand  and  then  place  it  inside  your  aba  "  (cloak). 

"  No,  no,"  cries  the  driver,  "  I  never  picked  it  up." 

"  So  if  you  will  let  me  show  you  where  it  is,  I  can 
relieve  you  of  this  worthless  object." 

After  a  little  more  parleying  of  this  sort,  the 
camel-driver  produces  my  husband's  watch  and  chain, 
and  receives  in  return  a  small  backsheesh.  The  ser- 
vant, highly  delighted  with  himself  and  his  sagacity, 
smiled  as  he  pockets  in  imagination  the  promised 
reward  of  five  tomans  (£1).  The  camel-driver  con- 
fessed afterwards  that  he  was  so  taken  aback  at  the 
idea  of  his  deeds  being  revealed  in  a  dream  to  this 
man  that  he  would  not  have  kept  the  watch  at  any 
cost. 

Needless  to  say  the  "  dream  "  was  only  a  faked 
one,  manufactured  to  work  on  the  superstitious  mind 
of  the  simple  camel-driver. 

In  Mosul  the  chief  of  the  Seyyids  once  told  the 
doctor  a  story  relating  to  a  remarkable  dream.  It 
was  as  follows.  Two  men  once  called  on  a  mullah 
to  question  him  regarding  a  matter  which  had  been 
troubling  them.  The  cause  of  their  dispute  was  this. 
On  going  to  their  work  each  day  these  men  passed  a 
ladder  leaning  against  a  wall.  One  of  the  two  always 
avoided  going  under  lest  it  should  fall  and  kill  him ; 
while  the  other  said,  "  No,  I  will  not  run  from  danger, 

263 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

for  whatever  Allah  has  decreed  must  be.  If  it  is 
written  that  I  am  to  be  killed  by  the  ladder,  I  shall 
be."  So  the  two  friends,  after  having  spent  much 
time  in  arguing  this  knotty  question,  decided  to  lay 
the  matter  before  a  mullah  and  leave  the  decision  to 
him.  The  mullah  listened  to  them  both,  but  told 
them  that  such  a  serious  question  needed  much 
thought.  He  appointed  a  day  for  them  to  return 
and  hear  his  verdict.  After  their  departure  the 
mullah  fell  into  a  sleep,  and  in  his  sleep  he  dreamed. 
In  the  dream  he  beheld  a  beautiful  boy,  the  son  of  a 
king  whom  his  soul  loved  exceedingly ;  then  later  he 
met  a  stranger,  who  told  him  that  he  (the  mullah) 
was  to  cause  the  death  of  the  boy  he  loved  so  much. 
The  mullah,  filled  with  indignation,  repudiated  the 
idea,  saying  that  he  loved  the  boy  too  much  to  do 
him  any  harm.  "  Nevertheless,"  said  the  stranger,  "  it 
must  be,  for  Allah  has  decreed  that  the  boy  is  to  meet 
his  death  through  you,  and  what  is  written  is  written." 
The  old  mullah  returned  to  his  house  troubled  and  sad 
at  heart,  but  determined  that  he  would  do  nothing  that 
could  in  any  way  bring  disaster  to  the  boy.  Still 
dreaming,  the  mullah  received  a  summons  to  visit 
the  young  prince.  Remembering  the  words  of  the 
stranger,  he  took  with  him  nothing  that  could  in  any 
way  injure  the  boy,  contenting  himself  by  taking  with 
him  one  gift  only — an  apple.  The  boy  received  the 
mullah  in  his  beautiful  island  home,  and  the  two 
enjoyed  some  blissful  hours  of  converse  together. 

Finally,  ere  saying  farewell,  the  old  man  with 
extended  hands  presented  the  apple  to  the  boy,  who 
gladly  accepted  it,  and  proposed  eating  it  at  once. 

The  mullah,  taking  a  penknife  from  his  inner  pocket, 

264 


peeled  the  apple,  and  returned  it  on  the  point  of  the 
knife  to  the  young  prince,  who,  boylike,  grasped  it 
eagerly.  In  taking  the  apple  the  point  of  the  knife 
pricked  the  finger  of  the  lad,  with  the  result  that 
blood  poisoning  set  in,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
beautiful  boy  lay  dead.  The  mullah  in  his  sorrow 
wept  aloud,  and  as  he  wept  he  awoke.  With 
humble  heart  and  head  bowed  in  submission,  he  gave 
glory  to  Allah. 

On  the  day  appointed  the  two  men  returned  to 
hear  the  verdict  of  the  wise  mullah.  He  received 
them  kindly,  but  sorrowfully,  assuring  them  that  it 
made  not  the  slightest  difference  whether  they  walked 
under  the  ladder  or  not. 

"  For,"  said  the  old  man,  "  if  it  is  written  that 
you  are  to  be  killed  by  a  ladder  falling  upon  you, 
it  must  be  so,  you  cannot  escape.  What  Allah  has 
written  must  be  fulfilled.  His  designs  cannot  be 
frustrated." 

This  doctrine,  taught  to  the  old  mullah  by  means 
of  his  dream,  is  very  prominent  in  the  minds  of  all 
Moslems  to-day. 

When  in  Persia  we  had  an  Indian  servant  who 
was  a  Mohammedan.  He  told  us  that  three  times 
on  successive  nights  our  Lord  had  appeared  to  him 
in  a  dream,  in  the  form  of  an  old  man  with  a  long 
white  beard.  So  struck  was  he  with  the  persistency 
of  the  dream,  that  he  went  to  an  English  clergyman, 
asking  to  be  taught  the  Christian  religion. 

The  women  in  Mosul  have  often  told  me  of 
wonderful  things  which  they  declared  were  going 
to  happen  to  me,  as  had  been  revealed  to  them  in 

dreams.     Even  now  I  receive  letters  from  some  of 

265 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

these  women  in  which  they  say,  "  We  see  you  every 
night  in  our  dreams." 

The  first  women  in-patients  in  our  so-called  hos- 
pital in  Mosul  had  to  be  content  with  a  kind  of 
outhouse  for  their  ward.  The  only  place  we  could 
find  for  them  which  would  be  hareem  was  a  large 
room  which  we  used  as  a  wood-house.  This  my 
husband  had  whitewashed  and  thoroughly  cleansed 
and  disinfected.  The  first  unfortunate  woman  to  be 
put  in  this  ward  (?)  was  a  very  quiet,  gentle  Moslem 
woman,  who  came  for  an  operation.  Her  mother 
came  with  her  to  look  after  her,  and  these  two  were 
alone  in  their  none  too  comfortable  quarters. 

Two  or  three  days  after  the  operation,  these 
women  declared  that  in  the  night  a  huge  form  of 
dragon-like  appearance  rose  from  the  ground  at  their 
side ! 

Some  weeks  later  this  ward  was  occupied  by  a 
little  Jewish  girl  who  had  been  terribly  burnt,  her 
mother  and  grandmother  looking  after  her.  There 
were  also  two  or  three  other  women  in  the  ward. 
One  morning  very  early,  word  was  brought  to  us 
that  all  the  inmates  of  that  room  had  been  terribly 
frightened  in  the  night.  On  going  out  to  see  what 
had  happened,  we  found  them  all  lying  in  the  pas- 
sage, having  carried  their  bedding  out  of  the  room. 
They  were  looking  very  unhappy  and  frightened,  and 
requested  to  be  allowed  to  leave  the  hospital  at  once, 
saying  they  would  not  pass  another  night  in  that 
awful  place.  Then  they  all  began  to  recount  their 
experiences  of  the  night  at  the  same  time,  so  it  was 
with  great  difficulty  we  could  find  out  what  really 
had  happened.  It  seems  that  soon  after  midnight 

266 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

they  were  talking  to  one  another,  when  suddenly 
they  saw  two  soldiers  sitting  on  the  edge  of  their 
bedsteads.  Terribly  alarmed,  they  asked  the  men 
however  they  came  to  be  there — did  they  not  know 
it  was  "  hareem "  ?  At  first  the  soldiers  remained 
silent,  but  afterwards  told  the  women  that  they  had 
come  from  a  village  about  twelve  miles  off.  That 
they  had  been  told  in  a  dream  to  come  to  the  beit 
hakeem  Engelisi  (house  of  the  English  doctor).  In 
obedience  to  this  command  they  had  come.  Then, 
as  suddenly  as  they  had  arrived,  they  disappeared. 
The  women,  of  course,  were  all  fearfully  alarmed, 
some  believing  that  they  were  real  soldiers,  others 
that  they  were  genii  in  the  form  of  soldiers.  They 
immediately  left  the  room,  carrying  their  bedding 
with  them,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  in  fear 
and  trembling.  The  next  morning  we  made  a  very 
careful  examination  of  the  roof,  to  see  if  by  any 
possible  means  soldiers  could  have  entered  our  com- 
pound. We  found  that  next  door  was  the  house  of 
the  head  of  the  soldiers,  and  it  was  possible  that 
some  of  his  guard  might  have  found  their  way  over 
the  walls  and  down  to  our  house. 

Nothing,  however,  was  ever  proved ;  but  no  one 
could  ever  be  induced  to  use  that  room  again,  the 
women  declaring  that  it  was  haunted  by  evil  spirits. 
Finally,  we  made  it  into  a  hen-house ;  but  the  fowls 
and  turkeys  all  sickened  and  died,  so  there  evidently 
was  something  very  wrong  with  the  atmosphere  of 
that  room !  Our  first  attempt  at  a  women's  ward 
was  certainly  a  failure,  but  "it  is  an  ill  wind  that 
blows  nobody  any  good,"  and  so  good  came  out  of 
this  evil.  As  the  women  would  not  use  the  haunted  (?) 

267 


DREAMS    AND    VISIONS 

room,  other  accommodation  had  to  be  found,  so  we 
gave  up  our  house  for  them,  while  we  moved  into 
the  one  next  door — the  room  which  was  neither 
good  for  human  beings  nor  for  feathered  fowls 
being  now  used  as  a  wood-house. 

Once  when  travelling  in  the  desert,  a  spot  was 
pointed  out  to  us  as  being  the  abode  of  Jinns  and 
Genii.  This  spot  is  much  abhorred  by  the  muleteers, 
as  they  believe  that  any  one  camping  on  that  ground 
is  liable  to  be  overtaken  by  a  terrible  death.  The 
enchanted  ground  is  encircled  by  some  landmarks, 
and  it  is  said  that  any  one  going  to  sleep  within 
that  magic  circle  will  at  once  be  visited  by  the  Jinns 
inhabiting  the  spot,  who  will  immediately  come  and 
suck  his  blood  till  he  is  dead. 


268 


CHAPTER  IX 

MANNERS   AND    SUPERSTITIONS   IN    MOSUL 

Characteristics  of  inhabitants  of  Mosul — Social  habits — Love  of  drink — An 
effectual  cure — Gambling — Tel  Kaif  :  a  story  of  Uncle  Goto — The  Angel 
of  Death  and  other  titles — Difficulties  over  name  and  age — Some  super- 
stitions— Effect  of  scent  on  women — Birds  of  good  omen — Thieves — 
Sheep-killing — Sheikh  Matti — An  angel's  visit — Medical  superstitions 
— Cure  for  hydrophobia. 

"Nothing  has  more  effect  upon  the  mob  than  superstition." 

QUINTUS  CUKTIUS. 

"To  be  superstitious  is  a  crime." 

ANON. 

"  Sickness  and  sorrow  come  and  go,  but  a  superstitious  soul  hath  no  rest." 

R.  BUBTON. 

THE  natives  of  Mosul  are,  as  a  rule,  a  very 
simple-hearted  folk.  They  are  easily  amused, 
easily  taken  in,  and  as  easily  roused  to  passion. 
They  are,  on  the  whole,  good-tempered  and  patient, 
and,  considering  the  absolute  lack  of  self-control  in 
their  method  of  bringing  up,  they  give  way  far  less 
to  their  passions  than  might  be  expected. 

They  dearly  love  social  habits,  and  spend  much 
time  in  company,  telling  and  listening  to  stories, 
smoking,  and  drinking  coffee.  Unfortunately,  they 
do  not  confine  their  drink  to  coffee,  and  these  social 
habits  often  lead  to  a  great  deal  of  drinking.  Arak 

is  the  favourite  refreshment  at  these   times,  and  is 

269 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

indulged  in  by  both  Christian  and  Moslem  alike. 
It  is  a  pure  spirit,  and  is  made  by  the  Christians 
and  Jews  of  Mosul,  and  sold  by  them  to  the  Mos- 
lems. No  ceremony  is  complete  without  the  arak 
bottle.  At  weddings,  funerals,  dinner  parties,  at  each 
and  every  season  of  life,  it  is  thought  necessary  to 
provide  this  fire-water.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the 
women  also  drink,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as 
the  men. 

It  is,  of  course,  considered  a  great  sin  for  a 
Moslem  to  drink  either  wine  or  spirit,  as  both 
have  been  forbidden  in  the  Koran :  but  their  love 
for  the  arak  is  stronger  in  many  cases  than  their 
love  of  the  Koran.  A  Mosul  Moslem  woman  told 
me  a  short  time  ago  that  she  did  not  think  there 
was  one  Moslem  man  in  Mosul  who  did  not  drink 
either  wine  or  arak.  I  hope  this  is  an  exaggeration, 
but  the  tendency  to  be  less  ashamed  of  the  drinking 
habit  and  to  indulge  in  it  more  freely  is  growing 
more  and  more.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  the  Christians 
of  the  city  are  the  manufacturers  and  vendors  of 
spirit  and  wines,  and  that  they  are  responsible  for 
introducing  them  into  Mosul. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  Sultan  of  Turkey  who, 
desirous  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  ever-increasing 
drink  traffic,  made  a  law  by  which  every  Moslem 
found  the  worse  for  drink  should  be  cast  into  prison. 
The  first  morning  after  the  new  law  had  come  into 
action,  a  Moslem  was  found  drunk  lying  in  the 
street,  incapable  of  walking  to  his  home.  He  was 
immediately  taken  to  prison,  and  allowed  to  sleep 
off  the  effects  of  the  drink.  When  he  awoke,  great 

was  his  surprise  to  find  himself  in   the   interior  of 

270 


IN    MOSUL 

a  prison.  On  being  taken  before  the  judge,  he 
pleaded  "  Not  guilty,"  and  said  that  he  had  been 
suffering  for  some  days  from  a  terrible  pain  in  his 
tooth,  and  yesterday  had  gone  to  the  hakeem 
(doctor)  to  obtain  medicine  to  relieve  the  pain. 
The  doctor  had  told  him  that  the  best  cure  for 
his  pain  was  to  drink  a  little  brandy,  so  he  had 
followed  his  advice,  with  the  result  that  he  fell 
asleep  and  only  awoke  to  find  himself  in  prison. 
The  judge  then  commiserated  the  man  on  having 
such  bad  pain,  but  assured  him  it  was  easily  remedied. 
Calling  to  one  of  his  servants,  he  ordered  him  to 
go  at  once  and  fetch  the  barber,  who  acted  as 
dentist  to  all  such  sufferers.  The  prisoner  assured 
his  excellency  the  judge  that  it  really  did  not 
matter,  the  pain  was  better.  "  But,"  said  the  judge 
sympathetically,  "  it  may  come  back."  The  barber 
was  brought  and  told  to  examine  the  man's  mouth. 
Finding  no  sign  of  decay,  he  assured  the  judge 
that  the  teeth  were  sound.  The  judge  began  to 
revile  the  dentist,  saying,  "  You  call  yourself  a 
dentist  and  do  not  know  which  is  the  tooth  caus- 
ing this  man  pain.  Find  it,  and  pull  it  out  at 
once."  Trembling,  the  dentist  took  his  forceps  and 
extracted  a  back  tooth.  "Let  me  see,"  cried  the 
judge.  "  Why,  that  is  not  rotten ;  what  do  you 
mean  by  pulling  out  a  good  tooth  ?  Pull  the  rotten 
one  out  at  once."  Then  the  dentist  again  operated 
on  his  unwilling  victim,  and  a  second  time  the 
judge  upbraided  him  for  not  drawing  the  right 
tooth,  and  ordered  him  to  go  on  till  he  had  found 
the  one  that  was  decayed.  The  wretched  prisoner, 
feeling  he  could  not  bear  to  lose  any  more  teeth, 

271 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

called  out  that  it  was  all  a  lie :  he  never  had  had 
any  toothache,  and  only  drank  brandy  because  he 
loved  it,  and  promised  never  to  touch  it  again. 
The  judge  smilingly  bade  his  prisoner  begone, 
warning  him,  however,  that  next  time  he  offended 
all  his  teeth  might  have  to  come  out. 

Closely  associated  with  drinking  is  the  gambling 
habit.  This  too,  alas !  is  very  prevalent  in  Mosul. 
In  almost  every  house  card-playing  forms  the  chief 
pastime  both  in  the  hareem  and  amongst  the  men, 
and,  as  a  rule,  they  play  for  money.  Enormous  sums 
of  money  are  lost  and  won  in  this  way,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, those  in  good  positions  are  the  ones  who 
profit  most  by  this  gambling  habit.  One  lady  was 
the  possessor  of  many  beautiful  jewels,  diamonds, 
pearls,  &c.,  and  I  was  told  that  she  had  won  them 
all  by  gambling. 

We  are  always  very  glad  to  take  part  in  the 
social  customs  of  the  people  when  neither  drinking 
nor  gambling  is  part  of  the  programme,  and  I,  at 
least,  certainly  very  much  enjoy  a  dinner  served 
a  TArabe,  with  its  attendant  native  entertainment. 
The  after-dinner  story-telling  is  very  amusing  when 
you  have  mastered  the  language  sufficiently  to  be 
able  to  follow  the  drift  of  the  tale.  Shortly  before 
leaving,  we  gave  a  farewell  dinner  to  some  of  our 
friends,  and,  after  dinner,  entertained  them  with 
fireworks,  while  one  of  the  guests  amused  us  all  by 
recounting  stories,  some  of  which  were  very  inte- 
resting. One  was  as  follows  : — 

"There  is  a  village  near  Mosul  called  Tel  Kaif, 
in  which  all  the  inhabitants  are  Christians.  They 
are  a  very  original  set  of  people,  differing  altogether 

272 


IN    MOSUL 

from  the  Christians  of  Mosul  in  language,  dress, 
and  customs.  They  consider  they  are  quite  the 
most  clever  and  important  people  under  the  sun, 
and  this  idea  is  apparent  in  all  their  actions.  Many 
years  ago  there  lived  in  Tel  Kaif  a  very  clever 
and  wise  man  called  Uncle  Goro.  If  any  one  was 
in  trouble  he  immediately  went  to  this  man  for 
advice ;  if  any  were  sorrowful,  it  was  to  Uncle  Goro 
they  looked  for  consolation ;  were  any  sick,  again 
it  was  Uncle  Goro  alone  who  could  heal  them. 
In  fact,  Uncle  Goro  was  looked  upon  by  the  ad- 
miring villagers  as  their  one  hope  and  stay  in  times 
of  need.  One  day  a  cow  belonging  to  the  village 
felt  very  thirsty.  Now,  the  water  supply  of  Tel 
Kaif  is  not  very  good,  the  villagers  being  depen- 
dent upon  a  large  pool  of  rain-water,  which  some- 
times dries  up  during  the  long-continued  season 
of  drought.  Doubtless  this  cow  did  not  approve 
of  drinking  dirty  rain-water,  so,  while  seeking  for 
other  means  of  slaking  her  thirst,  she  espied  near 
the  doorway  of  a  house  a  large  earthen  water-pot. 
Into  this  she  looked  longingly,  but  her  horns  at 
first  prevented  her  from  reaching  the  water. 
However,  after  a  little  careful  manipulation  and 
perseverance,  she  managed  to  insert  her  head  into 
the  jar.  When  she  had  satisfied  her  thirst,  she  tried 
to  withdraw  her  head,  but  found  she  could  not, 
so  there  it  had  to  remain,  while  the  bewildered 
villagers  looked  on  in  helpless  astonishment.  At 
last  they  decided  to  appeal  to  their  wise  man,  so 
one  went  off  in  search  of  him.  When  he  arrived 
on  the  spot  and  beheld  the  cow  with  her  head 
in  the  water-jar,  he  considered  thoughtfully  for 

273  S 


a  while,  and  then  gave  his  advice  in  the  following 
learned  manner. 

"  Oh,  my  children,"  he  cried,  "  here  is  such  a 
simple  matter,  and  yet  you  could  not  find  a  way 
out  of  the  difficulty.  I  am  surprised  that  my 
fellow- men  should  be  so  ignorant." 

Then  they  all  crowded  round  Uncle  Goro,  be- 
seeching him  out  of  his  great  wisdom  to  tell  them 
what  to  do. 

"  First,"  said  Uncle  Goro,  "  you  must  cut  off  the 
cow's  head,  then  break  the  water-pot  and  take  out 
the  head ! " 

This  brilliant  suggestion  was  at  once  put  into 
practice,  the  owner  of  the  cow  being  the  only  one 
who  was  not  quite  so  sure  of  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  the  wisdom  of  Uncle  Goro.  When  the  deed 
was  accomplished  and  the  head  extricated  from  its 
awkward  position,  the  old  man  stood  and  proudly 
addressed  the  assembled  crowd  who  had  flocked  to 
hear  his  words  of  wisdom.  "  My  beloved  children," 
said  he,  "  a  day  will  come  when  your  old  Uncle 
Goro  will  die,  and  then  what  will  you  do  when  you 
have  no  one  to  settle  such  difficult  matters  as  these 
for  you  ?  Pray  to  God  that  your  Uncle  Goro  may 
long  be  spared  to  advise  and  counsel  you." 

A  rather  pretty  custom  exists  in  Mosul  which 
gives  people  titles  according  to  their  work,  or  any 
special  characteristics  belonging  to  them.  For  ex- 
ample, the  butcher  is  called  "  the  father  of  meat "  ;  the 
baker,  "  the  father  of  bread."  In  the  hospital,  when 
I  am  giving  orders  for  the  diet  list,  we  hardly  ever 
speak  of  the  patients  by  name,  but  according  to  their 
disease,  as  "  Aboo  "  (father)  liver  abscess,  "  Aboo-mai- 

274 


IN   MOSUL 

abiyud  "  (father  of  cataract).  One  of  the  assistants 
in  the  hospital  was  named  "  The  Angel  of  Death  " 
by  a  poor  little  girl  who  was  brought  to  the  doctor 
a  mass  of  burns.  It  was  the  duty  of  this  assistant 
to  dress  the  terrible  wounds  of  the  child  every  day, 
and  though  as  gentle  as  a  woman,  he  necessarily 
pained  her  a  great  deal — hence  the  term  "  Angel  of 
Death."  The  women  are  designated  in  the  same  way 
as  the  men,  only  substituting  "  mother  "  for  "  father," 
as  "  Em  haleeb,"  milk-woman  ;  "  Em  saba'  saba'een," 
mother  of  seventy-seven  (or  centipede),  this  last 
simply  referring  to  a  girl  suffering  from  hysteria. 

This  was  an  interesting  case  which  was  in  the 
women's  hospital  for  some  weeks.  The  patient  was 
a  young  woman  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  She 
was  under  the  delusion  that  she  had  swallowed  a 
"  saba'  saba'een  "  (a  horny  centipede,  measuring  some 
seven  or  eight  inches,  common  in  Mosul).  She 
declared  she  could  not  eat  anything,  for  every  time 
she  swallowed,  the  saba'  saba'een  opened  its  mouth 
and  ate  the  food  just  partaken  of!  She  absolutely 
refused  to  touch  anything  of  her  own  accord,  so  we 
had  to  force  food  down  her  throat.  Two  or  three 
women  would  hold  her  hands  and  feet  while  I  fed 
her  with  a  spoon.  As  time  went  on  she  became 
worse  instead  of  better,  and  was  always  beseeching 
my  husband  to  operate  on  her  and  take  out  the  saba' 
saba'een.  After  a  time  he  consented  to  give  her  an 
anaesthetic  and  operate.  On  the  day  appointed  she 
was  taken  to  the  theatre  and  given  a  whiff  of  chloro- 
form, while  the  doctor  made  a  slight  incision  in  her 
skin.  This  was  stitched  up,  and  she  was  shown  her 
wound  and  assured  that  the  doctor  had  cut  her  and 

275 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

found  nothing.  After  this  she  was  much  happier, 
and  was  soon  well  enough  to  leave  the  hospital. 

Women  never  know  their  age  in  Mosul.  On 
dispensary  days  each  woman  is  required  to  give  her 
name  and  age.  The  first  difficulty  is  over  the  name. 
Many  do  not  know  their  surnames  at  all.  When 
asked,  "  What  is  your  father's  name  ? "  they  say, 
"  How  do  I  know  ? "  and  then  add  with  a  laugh, 
"  Say  Bint  Abdulla  "  (daughter  of  a  servant  of  God). 
Abdulla  is  often  a  very  convenient  name  when  the 
parentage  is  uncertain. 

With  regard  to  their  age,  women  are  quite  hope- 
less. I  have  often  seen  an  old  lady,  bent  double  with 
the  weight  of  many  years,  come  into  the  dispensary. 

"  Well,  mother,  how  old  are  you  ? "  I  ask  her. 

"  How  old  am  I  ?  How  do  I  know,  my  daughter  ? " 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  fifteen  ?  " 

«  Well,  I  may  be." 

"  Are  you  twenty  yet  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  1  am,"  replies  the  fair  damsel  of  eighty. 
"  I  know  I  was  born  two  years  before  the  year  that 
the  locusts  ate  all  the  corn." 

As  to  how  many  years  ago  the  locusts  destroyed 
the  crop  she  has  not  the  remotest  idea. 

Or  another  woman  will  come,  certainly  not  more 
than  twenty  or  twenty-five,  the  mother  of  a  baby  in 
arms.  On  being  asked  her  age  she  replies,  "  About 
sixty  "  1  The  natives  never  have  any  idea  when  their 
birthdays  are,  but  keep  their  name-days  instead. 
Thus  amongst  the  Christians  all  Johns  will  keep  the 
feast  of  St.  John  as  their  feast-day,  and  so  on. 

Parents  have  a  convenient  way  of  forgetting  the 
date  of  the  birth  of  their  daughters.  A  girl  who  is 

276 


IN    MOSUL 

not  betrothed  will  remain  twelve  or  thirteen  for 
much  more  than  one  year  ;  for  when  she  has  passed 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years  she  is  no  longer  considered 
young,  and  not  very  likely  to  be  betrothed  at  all  if 
her  real  age  is  known. 

The  natives  of  Mosul  are  very  superstitious  ;  more 
especially,  perhaps,  is  this  true  of  the  women.  One 
curious  superstition  they  have  with  regard  to  scent. 
Now  an  odour  which  is  filthy  and  dangerous,  such  as 
may  be  felt  in  most  of  the  houses,  is  not  at  all  in- 
jurious from  their  standpoint,  but  a  sweet-smelling 
scent  is  an  abomination  to  the  women.  If  by  any 
chance  I  have  been  using  anything  in  the  way  of 
scent  (though  as  a  rule  I  am  very  careful  not  to), 
the  first  thing  I  see  on  entering  a  room  is  that  the  S^ 
women  all  immediately  apply  their  handkerchiefs  to 
their  olfactory  organs.  At  first  this  custom  appears, 
to  say  the  least,  not  too  polite ;  but  when  you  realise 
what  it  means  to  them,  you  understand  and  excuse 
them.  They  firmly  believe  that  a  sweet  smell  brings 
sickness  and  sorrow — that  it  is  equally  fatal  to  mothers 
and  young  children — hence  the  great  fear  of  anything 
in  the  way  of  scent.  One  day  our  reception-room 
was  full  of  women  who  had  come  to  visit  me.  Sud- 
denly a  visitor  was  announced  (a  native  of  the  country, 
but  not  of  Mosul) ;  immediately  all  the  women 
crowded  into  one  corner,  burying  their  heads  in 
their  chuddars.  I  could  not  make  out  what  had  dis- 
turbed them  till  I  discovered  that  the  new-comer  was 
strongly  scented.  She  was  left  severely  alone  by  all 
the  others,  who  kept  as  far  away  as  possible  from 
her,  some  even  leaving  the  room,  fearing  lest  evil 

should  overtake  them. 

277 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

Another  day  I  went  to  visit  a  little  patient  of  my 
husband's  in  whom  he  took  a  great  interest.  This 
little  boy  was  the  spoilt  darling  of  his  parents,  the 
father  especially  idolising  him,  watching  over  him 
carefully  lest  any  harm  should  befall  him.  Great  was 
his  consternation  and  distress  when  it  was  found  that 
an  operation  was  necessary  to  save  the  life  of  the  boy. 
When  the  little  chap  was  convalescent  I  went  to  see 
him.  After  talking  to  the  mother  some  time  in  another 
room,  she  suggested  our  going  to  see  the  boy.  No 
sooner  had  I  appeared  at  the  threshold  of  the  door, 
when  the  boy  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  calling  out, 
"  Oh,  you  smell,  you  smell ! "  I  assured  both  the 
mother  and  the  boy  that  I  had  no  scent  of  any  kind 
on  me,  but  the  boy  would  not  be  pacified,  and  con- 
tinued crying  out,  "  Go  away — you  smell !  "  As  he 
was  still  weak,  I  thought  I  had  better  depart,  as  ex- 
citement was  bad  for  him.  When  visiting  amongst 
the  women  it  is  better  not  to  use  scented  soap,  as 
they  detect  even  that  sometimes  ! 

Birds  have  a  good  many  superstitions  connected 
with  them.  Last  year,  while  we  were  waiting  for 
the  decision  of  our  committee  regarding  the  future  of 
the  mission  in  Mosul,  some  women  informed  me  that 
"  good  news  was  coming."  Good  news  meant  to  them 
that  the  Mission  was  to  be  kept  on.  On  asking  how 
they  knew,  they  told  me  they  had  just  heard  a  bird 
singing  which  is  supposed  never  to  raise  his  voice 
except  as  the  harbinger  of  good  tidings.  Storks  are 
looked  upon  as  omens  of  good  luck.  These  birds  return 
every  spring  to  Mosul,  hatch  their  eggs,  and  migrate 
in  early  autumn.  The  natives  of  Mosul  always  hail 
their  return  with  great  joy,  especially  if  they  nest 

278 


IN    MOSUL 

on  their  roofs.  Some  will  even  go  so  far  as  to  put 
baskets  on  the  roofs,  hoping  that  the  storks  will  be 
attracted  by  them  and  make  them  their  home  for  the 
summer.  They  agree  with  Longfellow  in  his  love 
of  storks,  as  expressed  in  his  poem — 

"  By  God  in  heaven 
As  a  blessing,  the  dear  white  stork  was  given." 

If  there  had  been  any  truth  in  this  superstition, 
we  ought  to  have  been  very  prosperous  ;  for  at  one 
time  we  had  no  less  than  three  families  of  storks 
on  our  roof.  Personally  I  think  they  are  not  alto- 
gether too  desirable,  for  when  sleeping  on  the  roof 
they  are  apt  to  become  very  noisy  companions.  I 
do  not  think  I  like  to  be  laughed  at  by  these  birds. 
In  the  early  morning  they  stand  close  by  one's  bed, 
throw  back  their  heads  till  they  rest  on  their  backs, 
and  then  laugh  aloud  at  the  idea  of  any  one  sleeping 
when  once  dawn  has  appeared. 

The  common  name  for  storks  in  Mosul  is  "the 
thieves,"  as  they  sometimes  steal  small  articles  of 
clothing  hanging  out  to  dry,  such  as  handkerchiefs ; 
and  no  one  would  ever  dare  to  go  to  the  nest  to 
hunt,  lest  they  should  disturb  the  birds  and  cause 
them  to  fly  away.  These  birds  are  rather  a  con- 
venience sometimes  for  the  washerwoman :  when 
blouses  disappear  it  is  easy  to  lay  the  blame  on  the 
"  thieves."  They  are  almost  as  useful  as  the  pro- 
verbial "  cat." 

Our  servant  Judy  is  a  little  woman  full  of  queer 
superstitious  ideas.  While  in  Mosul  I  received  the 
sad  news  of  the  death  of  my  father :  poor  Judy  was 
so  distressed  lest  by  over-much  mourning  I  should 

279 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

tempt  God  to  take  my  husband  too.  As  dress- 
making is  rather  primitive  in  Mosul  I  decided  to 
have  some  things  dyed  black.  Judy  would  not 
hear  of  such  a  thing,  saying  that  only  widows  must 
wear  dyed  clothes,  and  that  if  I  wore  dyed  dresses 
for  my  father,  she  was  sure  something  would  happen 
to  my  husband. 

Another  thing  she  never  would  do,  and  that  is  to 
step  over  our  feet !  In  the  summer  evenings  we  used 
to  sit  in  our  verandah,  which  was  rather  narrow,  and 
if  by  chance  we  should  place  our  feet  on  a  hassock 
in  front  of  us  there  remained  no  room  for  any  one  to 
pass.  I  could  not  make  out  why  Judy  would  never 
pass  that  way  when  it  was  necessary  to  enter  the 
room  at  our  back.  At  last  she  told  me  that  if  she 
stepped  over  our  feet,  she  would  be  in  danger  of 
"  cutting  our  life,"  and  that  if  we  died  it  would  be 
her  fault.  After  this  I  often  tried  to  make  her  step 
over  my  feet,  by  blocking  her  pathway,  but  she  never 
would,  so  strong  was  her  belief  that  by  so  doing  she 
would  cut  short  my  life  ! 

It  is  surprising  how  ignorantly  superstitious  some 
of  the  better-class  people  are.  A  wife  of  a  very 
wealthy  Christian  merchant  in  Mosul  had  a  child 
who  suffered  terribly  from  sore  eyes.  She  brought 
him  to  the  dispensary  for  some  time,  but  finding 
that  the  treatment  pained  the  child  and  made  him 
cry,  ceased  to  bring  him.  We  heard  afterwards 
that  she  had  resorted  to  the  following  superstitious 
method  of  healing. 

A  sheep  was  bought,  killed,  and  opened :  while 
the  blood  was  still  hot  the  head  of  the  child  was 

inserted   into  the  middle   of  the  sheep's  body  and 

280 


IN    MOSUL 

allowed  to  remain  there  about  fifteen  minutes. 
Could  any  treatment  be  more  revolting  and  dis- 
gusting than  this  ?  and  yet  these  people,  rich  and 
influential  members  of  Mosul  society,  really  believed 
that  by  doing  this  their  child's  eyes  would  be  cured. 
Needless  to  say  it  had  not  the  desired  effect,  and 
months  afterwards  they  again  brought  the  child  to 
the  dispensary,  and  having  learnt  their  lesson  by 
experience,  were  content  to  leave  the  child  in  the 
English  hakim's  hands,  with  the  result  that  after 
a  couple  of  months'  daily  treatment  the  eyes  were 
quite  healed. 

I  do  not  know  what  virtue  is  supposed  to  exist 
in  the  killing  of  the  sheep  or  goat,  but  it  is  a  custom 
very  much  in  vogue  in  Mosul.  On  our  return  from 
Beyrout,  after  having  been  absent  three  months,  a 
live  goat  was  brought  out  into  the  desert  to  meet 
us,  and  the  moment  we  alighted  from  our  carriage 
this  poor  creature  was  slaughtered  right  under  our 
eyes.  In  Persia  the  custom  amongst  the  Armenians 
at  a  wedding  feast  was  for  a  sheep  to  be  killed 
just  as  the  bride  and  bridegroom  were  stepping 
over  the  threshold  of  their  new  home.  It  was  not 
considered  lucky  if  the  bride  did  not  put  her 
foot  into  the  blood  as  she  passed.  In  Mosul, 
too,  I  believe  a  sheep  is  sometimes  slaughtered  at 
weddings  in  this  way,  but  I  have  never  seen  it 
done. 

When  a  wife  is  desirous  of  becoming  a  mother, 
there  are  various  superstitious  methods  to  which  she 
may  resort,  but  perhaps  the  favourite  one  of  all  is 
that  connected  with  Sheikh  Matti.  This  is  a  monas- 
tery situated  some  twelve  hours'  ride  from  Mosul, 

281 


MANNERS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS 

on  the  side  of  a  lonely  mountain.  The  woman  makes 
a  pilgrimage  to  this  place,  and  is  then  told  that  she 
must  spend  a  night  in  the  solitary  chapel  there. 
While  she  sleeps  an  angel  will  visit  the  building, 
and  if  her  request  is  to  be  vouchsafed  her,  will  place 
an  apple  by  her  head.  If  the  angel  desires  to  be 
especially  kind  to  the  woman,  he  will  place  two,  or 
even  three  apples  near  her,  the  number  of  apples 
indicating  how  many  children  God  is  going  to 
honour  her  with.  Strange  to  say,  these  angel 
visits  do  not  take  place  unless  provoked  by  a  fair 
amount  of  backsheesh ! 

There  are  a  good  many  superstitions  regarding 
medical  treatment  of  diseases  and  accidents,  but 
these,  I  believe,  are  fast  dying  out  in  the  face  of 
European  learning  and  skill.  The  people  are  learn- 
ing by  experience  how  much  better  are  the  English 
methods  than  their  own.  For  instance,  it  used  to 
be  the  common  custom  for  those  suffering  from 
fever  to  go  to  the  mullah,  who  would  lay  his  hands 
on  the  patient's  head  while  reading  a  few  verses  from 
the  Koran.  If  the  fever  did  not  go  at  once,  well, 
it  was  the  fault  of  the  fever,  not  of  the  mullah. 
I  fancy  fever  patients  are  beginning  to  prefer  Eng- 
lish medicines  rather  than  to  trust  to  the  laying  on 
of  hands  by  the  mullah.  When  any  one  has  been 
bitten  by  a  mad  dog,  which,  considering  the  number 
of  street  dogs,  is  of  very  rare  occurrence,  he  goes 
at  once  to  a  sheikh,  who  will  give  him  an  antidote. 
This  consists  of  a  date  from  which  the  stone  has 
been  taken,  and  into  which  the  sheikh  has  spat  two 
or  three  times  to  fill  up  the  gap  caused  by  the 

removal  of  the  stone.     Upon  eating  this,  the  man 

282 


IN    MOSUL 

is  supposed  to  be  free  from  all  fear  of  the  develop- 
ment of  hydrophobia. 

These  are  merely  a  few  of  the  superstitious  customs 
found  in  Mosul  to-day.  Had  we  time  or  space  they 
might  be  multiplied  many  times  over,  but  enough,  I 
trust,  has  been  said  to  awaken  love  and  sympathy  in 
our  hearts  for  these  simple  folk,  whose  minds  are  so 
easily  influenced  and  guided  by  these  useless  and 
often  degrading 

"  Heart-chilling  superstitions,  which  can  glaze 
Even  Pity's  eye  with  her  own  frozen  tears." 

COLERIDGE. 


283 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  YEZIDEES 

Gratitude  to  the  English — Persecutions — "Devil-worshippers" — Sun  and  fire 
worship — Priesthood — A  visit  to  Sheikh  Adi — Peacock  wands — A  sacred 
shrine. 

"  Whoever  thou  art,  if  thy  need  be  great, 
In  the  Name  of  God,  the  Compassionate 
And  All-Merciful  One — 
For  Thee  I  wait." 

WHITTIEE. 

rilHE  Yezidees,  or,  as  they  are  commonly  called, 
-1-  "  devil- worshippers,"  are  a  very  remarkable 
tribe  living  in  the  near  vicinity  of  Mosul.  Very 
little  is  really  known  as  to  their  religious  beliefs, 
and  whether  they  worship  the  devil  or  only  fear 
him,  has  never  yet  been  discovered  by  Europeans. 

These  curious  people  are  very  favourably  disposed 
towards  the  English,  as  many  years  ago  the  British 
representative  in  Mosul  was  able  to  assist  them  very 
materially.  The  Mohammedans  have  always  been 
very  bitter  against  this  people,  and  have  done  all  in 
their  power  to  exterminate  them.  A  former  Pasha 
at  one  time  captured  the  high  priest  of  the  Yezidees, 
whose  name  was  Sheikh  Naser ;  he  somehow  managed 
to  escape,  substituting  in  his  place  a  priest  under  him 
in  authority.  The  priest  never  revealed  this  fact, 
and  bore  with  resignation  the  tortures  and  imprison- 
ment inflicted  upon  him.  The  Yezidees  applied  to 

284 


THE    YEZIDEES 

Mr.  Rassam,  who  was  the  British  Vice-Consul  at 
Mosul,  and  he  obtained  the  release  of  the  priest  by 
paying  a  large  sum  as  ransom  money.  This  debt 
was  faithfully  repaid,  and  since  that  time  the  Yezi- 
dees  have  cherished  very  grateful  memories  of  the 
English. 

Many  years  ago  these  Yezidees  were  a  very 
powerful  tribe.  They  had  two  principal  strong- 
holds, one  in  the  mountains  lying  to  the  west  of 
Mosul,  and  the  other  only  twenty-four  hours'  journey 
to  the  north.  By  means  of  continual  attacks  and 
massacres  at  the  hands  of  the  Kurds,  their  population 
has  been  reduced  considerably,  only  about  one-third 
remaining  of  their  original  number. 

Mohammedans  are  always  very  bitter  against  any 
sect  which  is  supposed  to  have  no  "  Book."  The 
Yezidees,  coming  under  this  category,  receive  little 
mercy  from  them,  and  for  centuries  have  been  ex- 
posed to  persecutions  from  these  their  oppressors. 
Of  late  years  the  Yezidees  have  seen  the  uselessness 
of  rebelling  against  their  fate,  and,  acknowledging 
their  defeat,  are  patiently  bearing  their  misfortunes. 

These  so-called  devil-worshippers  recognise  one 
Supreme  Being,  but  apparently  do  not  offer  any 
prayers  directly  to  Him.  The  name  of  God  is  often 
on  their  lips  in  the  form  of  oaths,  but  that  of  the 
evil  spirit  is  never  to  be  heard.  So  far  do  they  carry 
this  superstition,  that  not  only  will  they  not  use  the 
word  Shaitan  (Satan),  but  any  word  beginning  with 
"  sh  "  is  also  shunned  by  them.  Then,  again,  such  a 
veneration  have  they  for  Satan,  that  it  is  prohibited 
amongst  the  Yezidees  to  utter  any  word  containing 
the  letter  A  (shin),  being  the  first  letter  of  the 

285 


THE    YEZIDEES 

Arabic  word  for  Satan.  Thus  they  have  to  find 
other  words  to  express  such  commonly  spoken  of 
objects  as  the  sun,  river,  water-melon,  &c.,  as  they 
each  begin  with  the  prohibited  letter.  Layard,  in 
his  Travels  amongst  them,  tells  of  one  instance  illus- 
trating this  superstition.  He  was  standing  in  the 
midst  of  a  large  crowd  of  Yezidees  gathered  to  take 
part  in  their  yearly  feast,  when  he  espied  a  boy 
climbing  a  tree  at  the  apparent  risk  of  his  neck.  He 
says,  "  As  I  looked  up  I  saw  the  impending  danger, 
and  made  an  effort  by  an  appeal  to  the  chief  to  avert 
it.  '  If  that  young  Sheit — '  I  exclaimed,  about  to 
use  an  epithet  generally  applied  in  the  East  to  such 
adventurous  youths.  I  checked  myself  immediately, 
but  it  was  too  late;  half  the  dreaded  word  had 
escaped."  He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  effect  was 
instantaneous,  a  look  of  horror  spreading  over  the 
faces  of  all  present.  Fortunately  for  him,  he  was 
a  favourite  amongst  the  Yezidees,  and  so  they 
allowed  it  to  pass.  So  great  is  the  horror  of  this 
letter,  that  they  have  often  killed  those  who  use 
it  wilfully.  When  speaking  of  the  devil  they  do 
so  reverently,  calling  him  the  "  mighty  angel." 

The  symbol  of  their  religion  is  the  "  Malek  el 
Taous,"  a  peacock,  and  is  held  in  great  reverence  by 
them.  Satan  is  said  to  be  the  head  of  the  angelic 
host,  and  he  is  supplied  with  seven  archangels,  who 
minister  to  him  and  exercise  great  influence  over  the 
world ;  they  are  Gabriel,  Michael,  Raphael,  Azrail, 
Dedrail,  Azrapheel,  and  Shemkeel.  Our  Lord  is 
also  counted  amongst  the  angels,  though  not  one  of 
these  seven,  and  is  acknowledged  to  have  taken  upon 
Himself  the  form  of  man.  They,  in  common  with 

286 


THE    YEZIDEES 

the  Mohammedans,  do  not  believe  in  His  crucifixion ; 
but  declare  that  He  ascended  to  heaven  just  before 
that  event  took  place,  some  saying  that  the  angel 
Gabriel  took  our  Lord's  place  on  the  Cross,  while 
others  say  Judas  was  the  real  victim.  They  are 
looking  forward  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  and 
also  to  the  reappearance  of  the  Imam ;  this  latter 
being  also  the  Mohammedan's  hope.  Their  patron 
saint  is  one  called  Sheikh  Adi,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  lived  many  years  before  Mohammed ;  but  very 
little  is  known  of  his  history. 

They  reverence  the  sun,  and  are  in  the  habit  of 
kissing  the  object  on  which  its  first  rays  fall.  Fire 
as  a  symbol  is  also  connected  with  their  worship,  the 
disciples  frequently  passing  their  hands  through  the 
flame,  kissing  them,  and  then  rubbing  them  over  their 
faces.  They  have  four  orders  of  priesthood,  which  is 
hereditary,  and  consists  of  the  Pirs,  Sheikhs,  Cawals, 
and  the  Fakirs. 

The  Pirs  (from  a  Persian  word  meaning  old  man) 
are  the  most  reverenced  next  to  their  great  sheikh  or 
head  of  the  sect.  These  are  believed  to  possess  the 
power  not  only  of  interceding  for  their  adherents, 
but  also  of  curing  disease  and  insanity.  They  are 
supposed  to  lead  a  life  of  great  sanctity,  and  are  in 
consequence  much  looked  up  to  by  the  people. 

The  Sheikhs  come  next  in  order  of  rank.  These 
are  supposed  to  know  a  little  Arabic,  as  their  work  is 
to  write  the  hymns  which  are  chanted  at  their  reli- 
gious services.  They  guard  the  tomb  of  Sheikh  Adi, 
bring  fuel  to  keep  up  the  holy  fire,  and  provisions  to 
those  who  dwell  within  the  shrine. 

The  third  rank  of  priesthood  is  perhaps  the  most 

287 


THE    YEZIDEES 

active  of  all.  These  are  called  Cawals  or  preachers, 
and  it  is  their  duty  to  go  from  village  to  village 
teaching  the  doctrines  of  the  Yezidees.  They  are  all 
musicians,  being  taught  to  sing  when  very  young; 
they  also  perform  on  the  flute  and  tambourine,  both 
of  these  instruments  being  looked  upon  as  holy. 
Before  and  after  playing  they  often  kiss  their  instru- 
ments, and  pass  them  to  the  audience  for  them  to 
do  likewise.  They  dress  as  a  rule  in  white  and 
wear  black  turbans,  while  the  sheikhs  always  wear 
nothing  but  white.  They  are  generally  venerable- 
looking  men  with  long  beards.  They  act  as  emis- 
saries for  the  sheikh,  and  yearly  go  forth  and  collect 
the  revenues.  Their  emblem  of  office  is  a  wand,  on 
the  top  of  which  is  perched  a  brazen  peacock,  and 
they  boast  with  pride  that  never  have  their  enemies 
been  able  to  capture  one  of  these  staves.  They 
relate  how  on  one  memorable  occasion  a  priest,  being 
chased  through  the  desert  by  Arabs,  in  the  heat  of 
the  pursuit  stopped  his  mare,  descended,  and  buried 
the  precious  badge  of  office ;  then,  marking  the  exact 
site  for  future  reference,  resumed  his  flight.  Having 
escaped  with  his  life,  six  months  later  he  managed  to 
recover  the  buried  staff,  creeping  down  by  night  into 
the  desert  from  his  mountain  shelter.  Now  why 
should  they  place  such  a  high  value  on  these  em- 
blems ?  A  possible  solution  was  given  me  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  who  recalled  to  my  mind 
an  old  Mohammedan  tradition  that  it  was  the  pea- 
cock who  admitted  Satan  into  the  garden  of  Eden. 
This  would  strengthen  the  suspicion  that  the  Yezi- 
dees really  do  worship  the  evil  one. 

The  lowest  order  in  the  priesthood  are  called 

288 


THE    YEZIDEES 

Fakirs.  These  wear  coarse  dresses  of  black  or  dark- 
brown  canvas,  which  reach  only  as  far  as  the  knees. 
Their  office  is  to  perform  all  the  menial  work  con- 
nected with  the  tomb  of  Sheikh  Adi,  sweeping  and 
cleaning  the  sacred  buildings,  trimming  and  lighting 
the  holy  lamps.  These  lamps  are  offerings  made  by 
pilgrims  who  have  visited  the  tomb  in  times  of 
danger  or  sickness. 

A  yearly  sum  is  subscribed  for  the  oil  necessary 
for  the  lamps  and  for  the  support  of  the  priests.  At 
sunset  each  evening  these  lamps  are  lit,  and  give  the 
appearance  of  a  multitude  of  stars  glittering  on  the 
side  of  the  mountain ;  for  not  only  are  the  lamps 
placed  in  the  shrine  and  walls  of  the  courtyard,  but 
they  are  also  scattered  about  on  rocks  and  ledges  and 
in  the  dark  corners  of  the  woods.  As  the  priest  goes 
from  lamp  to  lamp  lighting  each  one,  men  and  women 
pass  their  hands  through  the  flame  and  smear  their 
foreheads,  and  those  who  have  children  do  the  same 
to  them.  This  reverence  for  fire  reminds  one  of  the 
Parsees  of  Persia,  whom  these  people  in  many  ways 
resemble. 

Unfortunately  I  was  unable  to  visit  these  interest- 
ing villages,  but  I  hope  to  do  so  on  a  future  occasion. 
We  had  intended  to  spend  a  month  amongst  them 
during  the  summer  of  1906,  the  sheikh  having  extended 
a  cordial  invitation  to  us.  My  husband  accordingly 
went  up  to  reconnoitre,  and  see  if  there  was  any  place 
possible  either  to  stay  in  or  to  pitch  our  tent.  He 
found,  however,  that  it  was  hardly  a  suitable  place  for 
a  summer  holiday,  as  the  climate  was  not  very  satis- 
factory, besides  which  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  place 
for  the  tents ;  so  we  decided  we  would  not  go  that 

289  T 


THE    YEZIDEES 

year  at  any  rate.  Both  my  husband  and  the  men 
with  him  were  quite  ill  for  a  few  hours  after  visiting 
Sheikh  Adi,  so  they  were  not  anxious  to  return. 
The  natives  say  that  this  illness  is  caused  by  drinking 
the  water,  but  that  the  effect  passes  off  after  a  few 
days,  when  one  has  become  accustomed  to  the  water. 

My  husband,  however,  much  enjoyed  his  visit 
amongst  these  strange  people,  and  in  writing  of  that 
time  he  says  : — 

"  These  interesting  people  dwell  in  the  mountains 
round  about  Mosul,  the  ancient  Nineveh.  They  are 
ruled  over  by  a  sheikh,  who  claims  to  be  able  to  put 
some  ten  thousand  armed  horsemen  in  the  field.  On 
account  of  their  suspected  devil-worship  they  are 
detested  by  Moslems  and  Christians  alike.  The 
Turks  have  more  than  once  endeavoured  to  exter- 
minate them ;  but,  entrenched  in  their  mountain 
fastnesses,  they  are  very  hard  to  overcome. 

"  When  in  Mosul  their  sheikh  called  on  me  and 
asked  me  to  pay  him  a  visit  up  in  his  mountain 
home.  Thus  I  was  able  to  see  their  homes  for  my- 
self, also  the  sacred  shrine,  hidden  away  in  the 
mountains,  where  their  reputed  founder  (Sheikh 
Adi)  lies  buried,  from  whom  it  derives  its  name. 

"  The  Yezidees,  like  the  Druses  of  Mount  Lebanon, 
are  very  reluctant  to  discuss  their  religion,  and  it  is 
said  that  death  is  the  penalty  for  any  one  among 
them  who  reveals  the  truth  concerning  what  they 
worship. 

"  On  paying  a  visit  to  their  sacred  shrine  (Sheikh 
Adi),  I  found  it  hidden  in  the  hollow  of  thickly- 
wooded  mountains,  and  composed  of  two  large  com- 
pounds, the  inner  compound  containing  the  shrine 

290 


THE    YEZIDEES 

in  a  church-like  building  with  a  newly-built  steeple. 
On  the  right  side  of  the  entrance  porch  is  the  figure 
of  a  huge  serpent  graven  in  the  stone  of  the  build- 
ing, with  its  head  uppermost.  This  serpent  is  kept 
blackened  daily  with  charcoal  by  the  two  or  three 
old  monks  who  live  in  the  shrine.  Upon  inquir- 
ing the  meaning  of  this  symbol,  the  monk  told  me 
it  was  graven  there  to  remind  the  worshippers  to 
remove  their  sandals  from  off  their  feet,  as  the  ground 
around  the  shrine  is  holy.  If  any  should  be  careless 
or  wicked  enough  to  disobey,  it  was  said  that  they 
would  be  bitten  on  the  heels  by  some  of  the  snakes 
that  were  said  to  infest  the  place. 

"  The  steeple  rises  immediately  from  the  room  in 
the  church  that  once  contained  the  body  of  their 
founder,  Sheikh  Adi.  This  sheikh  was  a  great  Mo- 
hammedan teacher  who  many  centuries  ago  used 
to  preach  and  teach  in  Damascus.  He  gathered 
around  him  many  disciples,  and  it  is  said  he  was 
accustomed  to  vary  the  monotony  of  his  teaching 
by  drawing  a  circle  on  the  ground,  and,  placing 
therein  himself  and  some  favourite  disciple,  would 
enable  the  latter  to  hear  and  understand  the  teach- 
ing of  another  famous  mullah  speaking  in  far-away 
Baghdad. 

"  This  Sheikh  Adi  some  years  before  his  death 
retired  to  this  place  in  the  mountains,  two  days' 
journey  from  Mosul,  and  there  he  was  visited  by 
many,  as  his  fame  spread  abroad,  and  in  this  place 
he  died  and  was  buried.  The  Yezidees  claim 
that,  ere  he  died,  he  forsook  Mohammedanism  and 
instituted  a  new  religion.  The  Moslems,  however, 
reverence  his  memory,  and  say  that  the  Yezidees, 

291 


THE    YEZIDEES 

after    his    death,   started    a    new   religion   of   their 
own. 

"  In  the  church  there  was  to  be  seen  a  pool  of 
water,  said  by  them  to  be  used  as  a  baptistery,  and 
little  else  but  bare  walls.  My  guide  assured  me 
it  used  to  look  very  different,  but  fifteen  years 
previously  the  Turks  had  captured  the  place  and 
destroyed  all  they  could  lay  hands  on.  On  the 
roof  near  the  steeple  are  two  stones,  facing  east 
and  west,  said  to  be  used  as  prayer-stones,  the 
Yezidees  praying  as  the  first  ray  of  the  rising  sun 
appears,  and  as  the  last  ray  of  the  setting  sun 
departs,  and  use  these  stones  as  indicators.  This, 
again,  is  interesting,  as  (according  to  Dr.  Tisdall) 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  Mohammedan  tradition 
avers  that  it  is  alone  at  these  two  times  daily  that 
the  devil  has  power  to  intercept  the  prayers  of  the 
faithful,  and  they  are,  therefore,  to  be  scrupulously 
avoided  by  all  true  Moslems. 

"  The  Yezidees  are  loath  to  venture  into  the  city, 
but  a  few  have  already  commenced  to  attend  the 
Mission  Dispensary.  They  are  easily  recognised  by 
their  costume,  and  by  the  fact  that  no  Yezidee  is 
allowed  to  wear  any  garment  exposing  the  breast. 
One  of  these  patients  informed  me  that  when  he 
wanted  to  worship  he  went  to  the  priest  (cawal), 
paid  him  a  small  fee,  and  was  placed  in  a  small 
room,  the  filthier  the  better,  and  made  to  sit  on 
the  floor.  The  priest  would  then  sit  in  front  of  him 
and  make  him  imagine  himself  to  be  in  Paradise 
(the  Eastern  idea  of  Paradise — lovely  garden,  flow- 
ing stream,  trees  laden  with  fruit,  houris,  &c.).  If 
(and  it  is  a  big  'if')  his  statement  was  true,  it 

292 


THE    YEZIDEES 

would  point  to  their  priests  having  some  know- 
ledge of  hypnotism,  but  the  Yezidees  will  say 
anything  to  mislead  an  inquirer. 

"  We  had  a  little  Yezidee  boy  in  hospital  with 
his  mother.  He  had  been  successfully  operated 
upon  for  stone,  but  developed  jaundice  and  gradu- 
ally sank.  One  evening,  ere  his  mother  took 
him  back  to  her  village,  a  message  was  brought 
to  us  imploring  my  wife  and  me  to  wash  our 
hands  in  the  water  our  servant  brought  us ;  the 
same  water  was  then  to  be  given  by  the  Yezidee 
mother  to  her  dying  boy  that  he  might  drink  and 
live  1 

"  One  longs  to  be  able  to  tell  them  of  Him 
who  is  the  Water  of  Life :  but  they  have  a 
language  of  their  own,  and  understand  but  little 
Arabic. 

"  Will  not  my  readers  pray  that  the  Mosul  Mis- 
sion may  be  strengthened  and  properly  equipped ; 
that  the  Gospel  may  be  preached  to  these  poor 
Yezidees,  as  well  as  to  their  Mohammedan  neigh- 
bours ;  and  that  they  may  learn  to  love  Him  who 
alone  has  power  to  cast  out  devils  ? " 


CHAPTER  XI 

TRAVELLING    IN  THE   DESERT 

Monotony  of  desert  travelling — A  puppy  and  a  kitten — Tragedy — Accident 
by  the  river  Euphrates — Riots  in  Mosul — Robberies  and  murder  excited 
by  love  of  gold. 

"  Of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field, 
Of  hairbreadth  'scapes  .  .  . 
The  shot  of  accident,  nor  dart  of  chance 
Could  neither  graze  nor  pierce  .  .  ." 

SHAKESPEAKE. 

nnRAVELLING  in  the  desert  is  apt  to  become 
JL  rather  monotonous  when  each  day  goes  by 
with  nothing  to  mark  it  from  the  preceding  one, 
so  that  when  some  event  out  of  the  common  does 
take  place  it  is  quite  exhilarating.  For  instance, 
once  during  our  mid-day  halt,  which  happened  to 
be  on  the  site  of  a  newly-deserted  Arab  encamp- 
ment, we  heard  a  cry,  and  looking  about  found 
a  wee  puppy  about  two  days  old.  This  puppy 
afforded  us  amusement  for  at  least  two  days,  much 
to  the  amazement  of  our  muleteers.  We  wrapped 
it  in  flannel,  placed  it  in  the  sunshine  to  try  and 
instil  some  warmth  into  its  chilly  body,  and  pre- 
sently we  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  its  wail- 
ing gradually  cease  as  the  sunshine  penetrated  the 
flannel.  We  managed  to  keep  life  in  the  poor 

little  beast  for  two  or  three  days,  but,  as  milk   is 

294 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

scarce  in  the  desert,  it  was  impossible  to  feed  it 
properly. 

One  evening  we  arrived  at  an  Arab  encamp- 
ment, and  thought  it  would  be  kinder  to  leave 
the  poor  puppy  with  one  of  the  Arabs,  who  are 
supposed  to  be  fond  of  dogs.  So  we  persuaded 
our  servant  to  take  the  puppy  and  deposit  it  in 
one  of  the  tents.  He  did  so  very  reluctantly, 
thinking  he  might  be  shot  at  for  venturing  near 
after  dusk.  However,  he  crept  up  quietly  and 
placed  the  puppy  just  inside  one  of  the  tents. 
Immediately  the  owner  demanded  who  was  there, 
but  Aboo  (our  servant)  fled  without  waiting  to 
answer.  We  heard  the  Arab  using  some  strong 
language,  and  then,  catching  sight  of  the  poor 
puppy,  he  took  it  up  and  threw  it  out  into  the 
desert.  We  could  hear  the  little  thing  squealing 
and  crying,  so  my  husband  went  to  rescue  it  once 
more  from  an  untimely  end.  He  found  it  on  top 
of  a  rubbish  heap,  brought  it  back  to  our  tent,  and 
we  tried  again  to  warm  and  soothe  it.  The  next 
day,  however,  the  little  spark  of  remaining  life  was 
quenched.  So  the  short  story  of  this  little  for- 
saken waif  ended  in  a  sad  tragedy,  and  my  husband 
undertook  the  dismal  duty  of  committing  its  body 
to  the  deep  waters  of  the  river. 

Another  day  one  of  our  escort  galloped  up  with 
great  excitement  to  show  us  a  kitten  he  had  just 
found  in  the  desert — the  poor  little  mite  was  so 
thankful  to  see  a  human  being  again,  and  had  evi- 
dently been  left  behind  in  much  the  same  manner 
as  the  puppy  when  the  Arab  tribe  was  migrating. 

These  are  small  episodes  of  the  desert  which  help 

295 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

to  break  the  monotony.     I  may  perhaps  be  allowed 
to  misquote  the  well-known  Mnes  of  S.  Gregory : — 

"  A  little  thing  is  a  little  thing, 
But  '  excitement '  in  little  things 
Is  a  great  thing  " — in  the  desert. 

On  one  occasion  we  passed  an  Arab  lying  on  his 
back  and  covered  with  his  aba,  the  native  cloak  worn 
by  all  classes.  We  heard  afterwards  that  it  was  a 
case  of  murder ;  that  the  man  had  been  dead  three 
days,  and  only  then  had  been  found  by  his  sons,  who 
were  out  searching  for  their  father.  Hastily  covering 
him  with  one  of  their  cloaks,  they  had  rushed  off  to 
try  and  find  the  murderer  and  avenge  their  father's 
blood.  We  met  them  soon  afterwards,  and  they 
told  the  whole  story  to  our  escort. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  seen  how  often 
the  cry  of  "  Wolf,  wolf !  "  was  raised  when  there  was 
no  wolf,  till  we  began  to  think  that  the  much-talked- 
of  robbers  of  the  desert  did  not  exist  at  all,  or,  if 
they  did  exist,  would  not  dare  to  touch  a  European 
caravan.  However,  we  soon  learnt  to  our  cost  that 
this  was  not  the  case. 

Two  years  ago  we  were  travelling  from  Mosul  to 
Aleppo,  and  had  almost  reached  our  destination  when 
we  met  with  the  following  adventure. 

Having  reached  the  end  of  our  stage  one  day, 
we  had  encamped  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  river 
Euphrates,  just  outside  the  town  of  Beridjik.  Our 
tent  was  pitched  beneath  a  lovely  spreading  tree, 
under  which  ran  a  sparkling  stream  on  its  way  from 
the  mountains  to  the  river.  We  thought  what  an 

ideal   camping-ground  it  made,  and  apparently  the 

296 


'     7, 


i 


ft 

J=  — 


- 


I! 

1  c 
v  rt 


same  thought  entered  the  minds  of  some  others,  only 
from  a  different  standpoint.  All  round  us  were 
signs  of  the  industry  of  the  villagers  in  the  form  of 
huge  stacks  of  corn  freshly  reaped,  now  waiting  for 
the  threshing  time  to  begin.  Ere  we  retired  for  the 
night  we  were  strolling  by  the  stream  and  amongst 
the  corn,  where  we  noticed  two  men  sitting  in  the 
field,  who  gave  us  the  evening  salutations  as  we 
passed  by.  We  did  not  attribute  any  importance 
to  this  fact,  as  it  is  not  unusual  for  the  villagers  to 
set  watchmen  to  guard  their  corn  during  harvest 
time  and  afterwards,  till  the  grain  is  safely  housed. 

So,  committing  ourselves  to  the  care  of  Him 
who  never  slumbers  or  sleeps,  we  retired  to  our  tent, 
hoping  for  a  good  night's  rest  to  prepare  us  for 
the  journey  of  the  morrow.  Our  "  ideal  camping- 
ground  "  I  found  to  have  at  least  one  great  disad- 
vantage— a  disadvantage  common  to  all  grounds 
which  are  used  by  flocks  of  goats  and  sheep  for  their 
resting-places.  That  night  these  "  pilgrims  of  the 
desert "  were  particularly  active,  and  gave  me  no 
peace  or  chance  of  sleep  till  the  early  hours  of  the 
morning ;  then  at  last,  worn-out  with  the  unequal 
warfare,  I  fell  asleep.  I  could  not  have  been  sleep- 
ing long  when  I  was  awakened  by  a  movement  on 
the  part  of  my  camp  bedstead.  Sleepily  I  decided 
in  my  mind  that  our  donkey  had  loosened  his  tether 
and  was  trying  to  pay  us  a  friendly  visit.  Often  in 
the  night  some  animal  would  get  loose,  and  rub 
himself  against  our  tent  ropes  till  he  had  succeeded 
in  rooting  up  one  peg,  when  he  would  go  and 
practise  on  another.  Thinking  this  was  the  case 
now  I  promptly  fell  asleep  again,  only  to  be 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

reawakened  in  a  short  time  by  the  same  sensation. 
This  time  I  was  quite  awake,  and  in  an  instant 
flashed  my  electric  torch  round  the  tent,  just  in  time 
to  see  a  man  decamping  by  the  door.  I  roused  my 
husband  (whose  sleep  is  never  disturbed  by  pilgrims 
of  the  night),  and  told  him  what  had  happened. 
He  immediately  rushed  out  and  gave  the  alarm  to 
the  camp.  Unfortunately  it  was  a  very  dark  night, 
and  nothing  could  be  seen  a  yard  ahead,  so  the 
robbers  had  ample  opportunity  for  beating  a  retreat- 
Our  tent  was  some  little  way  from  the  village,  so  my 
husband  returned  to  the  tent  to  put  on  some  more 
garments  before  going  to  interview  the  head-man 
of  the  village,  who  is  always  supposed  to  be  respon- 
sible for  the  safety  of  caravans.  When  he  came  to 
look  for  his  clothes,  the  only  article  he  could  find 
was  one  shoe,  the  thieves  having  cleared  the  tent  of 
everything  available,  even  to  our  tooth-brushes  !  Not 
only  did  they  clear  off  everything  from  the  tent,  but 
also  emptied  a  large  box  which  was  standing  outside 
the  tent,  and  also  took  a  large  valise  containing  my 
husband's  portmanteau  and  my  "  hold-all."  Had 
they  been  content  with  these,  we  should  never  have 
known  of  their  nocturnal  visit  till  the  morning  ;  but 
in  their  desire  to  secure  the  small  carpet  which  lay 
in  the  middle  of  the  tent,  they  awoke  me,  hence  the 
movement  of  my  bed  which  twice  disturbed  my 
sleep.  We  felt  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  till 
daybreak,  so  retired  once  more  to  rest. 

As  soon  as  dawn  appeared  some  of  the  caravan 
party  rode  off  in  different  directions  to  see  if  they 
could  find  any  trace  of  the  thieves,  but  of  course 

they  had  disappeared  long  ago  under  cover  of  the 

298 


darkness.  The  search  party,  however,  brought  back 
a  few  garments  picked  up  along  the  road,  which  the 
thieves  had  evidently  dropped  in  their  hurry  when 
the  alarm  was  given.  Our  escort,  a  soldier  from 
Beridjik,  was  sent  back  to  the  town  to  notify  the 
Government  officials  of  the  robbery.  In  a  short 
time  the  governor  of  the  place  rode  out  with  six  or 
seven  other  officials,  all  evidently  much  disturbed  in 
their  minds  lest  they  should  get  into  disgrace  for 
allowing  any  harm  to  come  to  a  European  caravan. 
The  first  thing  the  governor  did  was  to  send  for  the 
head-man  of  the  village  and  have  him  bound  and 
beaten.  I  was  so  sorry  for  the  poor  man,  who  had 
a  flowing  white  beard.  I  could  not  bear  to  witness 
his  beating,  so  retired  to  the  tent,  and  tried  to  shut 
out  the  sound  as  well  as  the  sight  of  the  old  man's 
sufferings.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  do  not  think  the 
beating  was  a  very  severe  one,  but  the  victim  made 
the  most  of  it. 

This  proving  of  no  avail,  they  all  set  out  for  the 
neighbouring  villages,  and  spent  the  whole  of  that 
day  and  the  next  scouring  the  country  for  the  thieves, 
returning  each  day  at  sunset  and  renewing  the  search 
early  next  morning.  My  husband  accompanied  them 
the  first  day,  and  was  very  much  amused  by  the  beha- 
viour of  some  of  the  villagers  at  sight  of  the  officials. 
At  some  villages  they  would  find  nothing  but  women, 
the  men  all  having  fled  at  the  news  that  soldiers 
were  coming.  They  found  plenty  of  other  stolen 
goods  buried  in  the  ground  of  the  huts,  but  none  of 
our  belongings.  In  one  village  a  man  confidentially 
whispered  to  one  of  the  soldiers  that  he  knew  where 
the  stolen  goods  were.  On  being  told  to  lead  the 

299 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

way  to  the  place,  he  led  them  all  to  a  large  field  in 
which  were  some  hundred  or  more  large  corn-stacks, 
and  said  that  the  goods  were  in  one  of  those.  I 
expect  he  much  enjoyed  his  little  joke,  for  after 
turning  over  a  dozen  or  so  of  these  ricks  under  the 
scorching  sun,  the  soldiers  gave  up  the  task  as  hope- 
less. All  efforts  proving  unavailing,  we  had  perforce 
to  proceed  on  our  journey,  managing  as  best  we 
could  till  we  reached  Aleppo,  where  we  were  able 
to  replenish  that  which  was  most  lacking  in  our 
wardrobe.  The  fame  of  our  adventure  preceded  us 
to  Jerusalem,  where  a  month  or  two  later  we  heard 
a  most  exaggerated  account  of  our  state  when  we 
entered  Aleppo. 

My  husband  went  at  once  to  our  consul  on 
reaching  Aleppo,  laying  before  him  the  whole  story. 
Fortunately  for  us,  Mr.  Longworth  was  a  most 
energetic  and  painstaking  man,  having  great  in- 
fluence with  the  Government  officials.  He  asked  us 
to  write  out  an  estimate  of  our  losses,  which  he 
presented  to  the  Vali,  assuring  us  he  would  either 
make  the  Government  pay  full  compensation  or 
produce  the  lost  goods.  After  six  months  of  endless 
work  and  worry,  Mr.  Longworth  sent  my  husband 
a  telegram  saying  that  compensation  to  the  full 
amount  had  been  given.  We  were  very  thankful  to 
our  consul  for  his  unceasing  energy  in  the  matter, 
and  sent  him  our  very  grateful  thanks.  Thus  happily 
ended  No.  1  of  our  chapter  of  accidents.  When  we 
think  of  what  "  might  have  been  "  that  night  with 
those  wild  men  of  the  desert  in  our  tent  while  we 
were  sleeping,  our  hearts  go  up  with  great  thank- 
fulness to  God,  who  ever  watches  over  His  children, 

300 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

and  who  can  keep  them  as  safely  in  the  deserts  of 
Mesopotamia  as  in  the  homeland. 

The  two  men  we  had  noticed  sitting  amongst  the 
corn  had  probably  been  hired  for  the  purpose  of 
robbing  us,  but  the  real  culprit  was  suspected  after- 
wards to  have  been  one  of  the  leading  men  of 
Beridjik — in  fact  we  were  told  that  he  was  a  member 
of  the  "  town  council."  Doubtless  he  wished  to 
procure  for  himself  and  his  hareem  some  European 
clothing,  without  the  expense  of  buying  it. 

Another  peril  from  which  in  God's  mercy  we 
were  delivered  had  its  origin  in  Mosul. 

The  Vali,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  Constan- 
tinople, endeavoured  to  register  every  woman  in 
Mosul.  To  accomplish  this  it  was  necessary  to  find 
out  the  number  and  "  write  "  a  list  of  every  woman 
in  each  house.  Moslems  and  Christians  alike  rose 
in  revolt  at  the  idea  of  their  women  being  "  written," 
as  it  appeared  to  them  contrary  to  all  the  laws  of 
God  and  Mohammed  that  such  a  thing  should  be. 
The  whole  town  was  in  an  uproar,  the  shops  were 
shut,  no  business  was  done  in  the  sook  (bazaar),  and 
men  congregated  everywhere,  talking  angrily  and 
making  ugly  threats.  This  went  on  for  five  days ; 
such  a  thing  had  never  been  known  before.  Some- 
times, in  times  of  trouble,  work  has  been  suspended 
for  three  days,  but  no  one  could  remember  the  sook 
being  shut  for  such  a  length  of  time  as  five  days. 

The  Christians  began  to  be  very  much  alarmed 
for  their  safety,  as  it  was  rumoured  that,  unless  the 
Vali  gave  way,  at  the  expiration  of  the  fifth  day  a 
general  massacre  of  Christians  would  take  place. 
The  French  convent  was  guarded  by  soldiers  ;  our 

301 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

agent  wired  to  the  Consul-General  at  Baghdad  for  a 
like  guard  for  the  English,  which  happily,  however, 
was  not  needed.  When  my  husband  was  in  the 
house  I  did  not  feel  at  all  nervous,  but  if  he  was 
called  out  to  see  a  patient  after  dark  I  certainly  felt 
very  anxious  till  he  returned ;  for  all  around  us  was 
heard  the  continual  firing  of  guns  and  pistols,  and  I 
pictured  to  myself  the  possibilities  and  probabilities 
of  some  of  those  stray  bullets.  "  Alhamd'llillah  !  " 
nothing  happened,  and  we  realised  again  once  more 
that  the  traveller's  God  is  able  to  keep,  as  expressed 
in  those  incomparable  words  commonly  known  as 
the  Traveller's  Psalm. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day  the  governor 
recalled  his  order  for  the  names  of  the  women  to  be 
written,  and  all  was  quiet  once  more,  at  least  out- 
wardly. For  some  time,  however,  a  feeling  of  unrest 
was  abroad,  several  murders  taking  place  that  week, 
one  of  which  still  remains  wrapt  in  mystery.  A 
Moslem  enticed  a  Jew  into  the  country  on  the 
pretext  of  having  some  work  for  him  to  do  ;  he  then 
made  the  man  dig  a  grave ;  after  which  he  stabbed 
him,  and  threw  the  body  into  the  grave  made  by  the 
victim's  own  hands.  The  reason  of  the  murder  is 
unknown. 

One  evening  we  were  having  dinner,  when  in 
rushed  my  husband's  chief  assistant,  in  a  great  state 
of  excitement,  to  say  that  his  brother  had  been 
stabbed  in  the  sook,  and  they  had  brought  him  to 
our  outer  compound.  My  husband  immediately 
went  out  and  found  the  young  man  with  a 
wound  in  his  thigh.  Had  it  been  a  little  higher 

up  the  result  would  probably  have  been  fatal,  but 

302 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

happily  it  was  a  comparatively  trivial  wound,  and  a 
few  stitches  and  a  week's  rest  soon  put  him  right 
again  ;  but  naturally  Daoud  (the  name  of  the  victim) 
was  very  much  alarmed,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
he  quite  recovered  his  nerve  and  could  walk  through 
that  sook  again.  It  seemed  such  an  absolutely 
meaningless  assault,  that  we  could  only  hope  it  was 
a  case  of  mistaken  identity.  Daoud  had  been  an 
assistant  for  over  a  year,  and  as  far  as  he  knew  had 
not  a  single  enemy  in  the  town. 

Matters  of  private  dispute  and  jealousy  are  often 
settled  by  means  of  the  revolver.  An  Armenian 
doctor,  a  short  time  ago,  was  shot  when  riding  home 
from  visiting  a  case.  He  was  passing  under  a  dark 
archway,  when  suddenly  he  heard  bullets  whizzing 
and  became  aware  that  he  was  the  target.  His  horse 
was  so  badly  hit  that  he  was  afraid  it  could  not 
recover,  but  fortunately  he  himself  escaped  with 
only  a  slight  graze  or  two.  He  attributed  the  motive 
of  this  attack  to  private  grudges  borne  against  him 
by  some  of  his  professional  brethren. 

There  is  in  Mosul  an  Armenian  woman,  whose 
husband  was  a  doctor  who  had  been  celebrated  for 
one  special  kind  of  operation.  On  his  death  his 
widow  thought  she  might  as  well  continue  her  hus- 
band's practice,  as  she  had  often  assisted  him  with 
the  operations.  Accordingly  she  set  herself  up 
amongst  the  many  quack  doctors  of  Mosul.  Many 
of  her  operations  were  successful,  while  the  results 
of  a  still  greater  number  remain  in  obscurity.  Her 
charges  were  tremendous  ;  no  matter  how  poor  her 
patient,  she  would  do  nothing  till  a  very  large  fee 
had  been  paid.  In  this  way  she  made  a  rich  harvest 

303 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

while  no  European  doctor  was  in  the  city,  but  after 
our  arrival  I  am  afraid  her  income  was  considerably 
lessened.  Upon  our  departure  from  Mosul  I  imagine 
she  again  started  her  lucrative  profession  of  grinding 
money  out  of  the  poor,  for  we  heard  not  long  ago 
that  she  had  been  stabbed  five  times  while  walking 
in  the  streets  one  evening. 

Robberies  are  very  common  in  Mosul.  Almost 
every  evening  may  be  heard  on  all  hands  sounds  of 
shooting,  telling  of  houses  being  visited  by  robbers. 
Fortunately,  so  far,  they  have  not  favoured  us  with  a 
visit,  and  I  sincerely  hope  they  never  will.  One  even- 
ing we  were  sitting  quietly  in  the  verandah  when  a 
woman  came  rushing  in  from  the  women's  hospital 
compound,  saying  that  there  were  three  men  on 
the  roof.  We  all  rushed  out,  armed  with  anything 
we  could  lay  hands  on,  and  made  a  dash  for  the  roof 
on  which  the  men  had  been  seen,  but  no  sign  of 
them  could  be  found.  One  of  our  servants  climbed 
on  to  the  top  of  the  wall  connecting  our  house  with 
our  neighbour's,  flashing  his  lantern  all  round  in  his 
endeavours  to  see  any  trace  of  the  supposed  thieves. 
Excited  voices  were  at  once  heard  asking  "  Who  is 
there  ?  "  "  Why  do  you  throw  a  light  here  ?  "  &c.  ; 
and  the  lantern-bearer  found  to  his  horror  that  he 
was  illuminating  with  his  lamp  the  whole  of  the 
hareem  of  our  next-door  neighbour,  who  were  all 
sleeping  on  the  roof,  the  time  being  summer.  His 
descent  was  much  quicker  than  his  ascent,  as  he  was 
in  deadly  fear  of  being  shot  by  the  irate  owner  of 
the  hareem. 

As  a  rule  thieves  only  think  it  worth  while  to  go 

after  gold.     Silver  is  not  accounted  of  any  value  in 

304 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

Mosul.  The  natives,  especially  perhaps  the  Christians 
and  Jews,  always  have  a  great  deal  of  gold  in  their 
houses,  and  in  consequence  live  in  terror  of  the 
robbers  coming  to  relieve  them  of  it. 

Shortly  before  we  left  I  heard  of  a  very  sad  case 
of  robbery  and  murder.  A  young  Christian  girl, 
who  had  just  been  married,  was  awakened  one  night 
by  a  man  roughly  forcing  the  gold  bracelets  from 
her  wrist,  holding  at  the  same  time  a  revolver  at 
her  head,  and  telling  her  if  she  made  a  sound  he 
would  shoot  her  dead.  For  a  time  she  suffered  in 
silence,  but  an  extra  sharp  wrench  from  the  rough 
hands  of  her  tormentor  made  her  cry  out  in  pain. 
Her  cry  roused  her  husband,  and  he  immediately 
made  a  dash  for  the  robber,  who  calmly  turned  the 
revolver  at  the  man's  head  and  shot  him  dead.  Thus 
the  bride  of  only  a  few  days'  duration  was  left  a 
widow.  Another  day  two  women  belonging  to  one 
of  the  leading  Christian  families  were  returning  from 
an  early  service  at  their  church,  when  they  were 
attacked  by  a  Moslem  man,  who  tore  the  gold  coins 
from  their  heads  and  necks.  The  terrified  women 
could  hardly  reach  their  own  homes,  so  stunned  were 
they  by  the  harsh  treatment  of  the  robbers.  The 
strange  sequel  to  this  story  is,  that  after  a  few  days 
a  parcel  arrived  at  the  house  to  which  the  women 
belonged,  which  on  being  opened  was  found  to  con- 
tain all  the  gold  which  had  been  wrested  from  them 
a  few  days  before.  Another  lady  in  Mosul,  also  a 
Christian,  was  the  proud  possessor  of  a  most  valuable 
set  of  jewels.  One  day  everything  disappeared.  She 
neither  saw  nor  heard  a  robber,  but  evidently  one 
must  have  gained  admission  to  the  house,  for  all  her 

305  u 


TRAVELLING    IN    THE    DESERT 

jewels  were  taken ;  and  to  this  day  she  has  never 
had  a  clue  as  to  their  fate. 

I  often  say  to  the  women  in  Mosul  who  some- 
times commiserate  me  on  having  no  gold :  "  Which 
is  better — to  have  gold  for  the  robbers  to  get,  or  to 
have  none  and  be  able  to  go  to  rest  with  a  quiet 
mind  ?  "  I  think  most  of  them  would  prefer  to  have 
the  gold  and  risk  the  rest,  so  devoted  are  they 
to  it  and  all  jewellery.  Every  woman,  except  the 
very  poor,  has  on  her  marriage,  gold  coins  for  her 
head,  gold  chains  for  her  neck,  a  golden  band  for 
her  waist,  gold  bracelets  for  the  arms,  and  the  same 
for  her  ankles.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  these  form 
attractions  which  prove  too  strong  for  the  average 
robber  to  resist  ?  I  was  once  visiting  at  the  house 
of  a  poor  Jewess.  She  was  telling  me  how  poor  she 
was,  as  her  "  man  "  was  ill  and  could  not  work  ;  but 
I  said,  "  I  expect  you  have  gold  ? "  "  Oh  yes,  of 
course,"  was  the  answer;  and  going  to  a  cupboard 
she  pulled  out  a  secret  drawer  and  showed  me  her 
store  of  gold  coins  and  bangles,  valued  at  about 
£200.  Before  putting  away  her  "  gods,"  she  asked 
me  if  I  thought  her  hiding-place  was  secure  enough 
against  the  invasion  of  robbers.  These  people  cer- 
tainly lay  up  for  themselves  treasures  where  thieves 
break  through  and  steal,  the  result  being  that  when 
their  "  treasures  "  are  taken  they  are  left  disconsolate. 
Having  nothing  better  to  live  for,  are  they  not  worthy 
of  our  love  and  pity  ? 


306 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   PLEASURES   OF  DESERT  TRAVELLING 

Desert  blossoms  as  a  rose — Flowers  of  the  desert — Arabs,  their  occupation 
and  women — Arab  dancing — Robbers  of  the  desert — An  army  of  ten 
thousand — Five  hundred  armed  men — False  alarms — Lost  in  the  desert 
— Delights  and  disturbances  of  travelling. 

"  Truth  is  truth :  too  true  it  was, 
Gold  !    She  hoarded  and  hugged  it  first, 
Longed  for  it,  leaned  o'er  it,  loved  it — 

Alas! 

Till  the  humour  grew  to  a  head  and  burst, 
And  she  cried  at  the  final  pass. 

Talk  not  of  God,  my  heart  is  stone  ! 
Nor  lover  nor  friend — be  gold  for  both ! 
Gold  I  lack,  and,  my  all,  my  own.  .  .  ." 

R.  BROWNING. 

"  O  that  the  desert  were  my  dwelling-place." 

BYEON. 

IT  can  with  all  truth  be  said  that  in  springtime 
the  Desert  of  Mesopotamia  blossoms  as  a  rose. 
Two  years  ago  we  travelled  from  Mosul  to  Aleppo 
by  the  northern  route  via  Mardin,  Diabekir,  and 
Orfa.  We  left  Mosul  about  the  20th  June,  just 
as  the  harvest  had  all  been  gathered  in  and  the  earth 
had  once  more  resumed  its  parched-up  appearance 
for  another  summer.  No  sooner  had  we  left  the 
neighbourhood  of  Mosul  behind  us  than  we  were 
surrounded  again  on  all  sides  by  fields  of  waving 

corn,  in  many  instances  still  green,  and  this  con- 

307 


THE    PLEASURES    OF 

tinued  the  whole  way  to  Aleppo ;  the  harvest 
becoming  later  as  we  travelled  north.  Where  the 
land  was  not  cultivated  the  wild  flowers  were  a 
perfect  delight,  and  the  desert  air  was  filled  with 
their  sweetness.  In  one  place  the  effect  of  these 
flowers  was  peculiarly  enchanting.  As  far  as  the 
eye  could  see,  the  fields  were  covered  with  hollyhocks 
of  all  hues,  the  different  shades  being  grouped  to- 
gether ;  thus  a  vast  expanse  of  red  hollyhocks  would 
be  succeeded  by  a  field  of  white  ones,  these  again 
changing  to  a  delightful  mauve.  I  have  never  any- 
where seen  such  a  wealth  of  wild  flowers  as  we 
saw  in  that  so-called  desert  journey  from  Mosul  to 
Mardin.  To  try  to  enumerate  the  countless  tiny 
flowers  of  the  desert  would  be  futile  ;  they  go  very 
near  to  rival  in  number  and  beauty  the  wild  flowers 
of  Palestine.  Once  we  were  sitting  in  a  field  waiting 
for  our  caravan,  and  my  husband  said  he  would  see 
how  many  different  kinds  of  flowers  he  could  pick 
without  moving.  In  a  minute  or  two  he  had 
gathered  over  a  dozen,  all  within  arm's  reach.  In 
that  field  alone  there  must  have  been  at  least  a 
hundred  varieties  of  flowers. 

As  we  approached  Aleppo  the  flowers  became 
scarcer,  and  fruit-trees  took  their  place.  One  day 
I  was  riding  on  the  top  of  the  pack  mule,  when 
suddenly  the  animal  (who  had  only  one  eye)  stumbled, 
and  I  was  deposited  on  the  ground  before  I  realised 
what  had  happened.  Feeling  rather  hot  and  bruised, 
I  looked  about  for  a  place  to  rest  in.  Fortunately  we 
were  near  an  orchard,  so  finding  a  delightfully  shady 
tree,  we  decided  to  make  this  our  Itinching-ground. 

As   we   sat  and  rested   ripe  apricots   fell  from  the 

308 


tree  into  our  laps.  The  owner  of  the  orchard  in- 
formed us  we  could  eat  as  many  as  we  liked — for  a 
consideration  ! 

But  desert  travelling  is  not  all  as  pleasant  as  this. 
Were  we  to  retrace  our  steps  a  month  or  two  later 
we  should  see  no  beautiful  flowers  or  waving  corn- 
fields, nothing  but  burnt-up  desert  land. 

The  direct  route  from  Mosul  to  Aleppo  lies 
through  land  almost  entirely  desert.  For  two  whole 
days  nothing  is  to  be  seen  save  an  occasional  Arab 
encampment,  and  sometimes  not  even  that. 

The  Arabs  of  Mesopotamia  belong  as  a  rule 
to  the  great  Shammar  tribe.  They  wander  up  and 
down  the  country  living  in  black  tents  made  from 
camel  or  goats'  hair.  When  wishing  to  seek  pastures 
new  they  migrate  from  one  place  to  another  with  all 
their  flocks  and  herds,  the  tending  of  which  forms 
one  of  their  chief  occupations.  The  Arab  women 
are  most  industrious  :  in  addition  to  the  ordinary 
cares  of  the  family,  they  fetch  the  water,  carrying 
it  home  from  the  well  or  river  in  large  jars  balanced 
on  their  heads ;  they  drive  the  flocks  to  pasture, 
milking  them  night  and  morning ;  they  spin  the 
wool  of  the  sheep  and  goat,  and  weave  it  into  cloth 
for  the  men's  garments  or  for  the  tent  canvas.  In 
fact,  there  is  hardly  anything  the  Arab  woman  does 
not  do,  while  her  lord  and  master  passes  the  time 
in  scouring  the  country  on  horseback,  or  settling 
quarrels  with  his  neighbours.  Arabs  of  different 
tribes  are  very  quick  to  go  to  war  against  each  other, 
and  will  fight  for  the  merest  trifle,  though  blood  is 
rarely  shed,  the  consequences  of  a  blood  feud  being 
so  dreaded.  With  the  Arab  it  must  be  blood  for 

309 


blood,  and  once  blood  has  been  shed,  there  can  be 
no  rest  till  vengeance  has  been  satisfied. 

The  Arabs  are  very  proud  of  their  horses,  as  they 
have  every  reason  to  be,  a  true  Arab  horse  being 
a  lovely  creature.  As  a  rule  they  do  not  shoe  their 
horses  at  all. 

One  day  two  men  from  an  encampment  near 
Mosul  were  walking  along  when  they  saw  something 
on  the  road  which  attracted  their  attention.  Picking 
it  up,  they  examined  it  very  carefully,  turned  it  over 
and  over,  but  could  not  come  to  any  satisfactory 
conclusion  regarding  it.  The  object  under  discussion 
was  a  horseshoe,  but  as  neither  of  them  had  ever 
seen  such  a  thing  before  they  could  not  guess  its  use. 
After  discussing  it  gravely  for  some  time  one  Arab 
said  to  the  other,  "  Of  course  I  know  what  it  is. 
This  is  an  old  moon  which  has  fallen  down  from 
heaven  ! " 

The  Arabs  are  very  hospitable  people,  and  were 
often  profuse  in  their  invitations  for  us  to  eat  with 
them.  I  have  once  or  twice  joined  the  women 
in  sitting  round  a  big  cauldron  full  of  "  borghol " 
(crushed  corn  boiled  with  plenty  of  fat)  and  dipping 
with  them  into  the  one  dish,  and  thoroughly  enjoyed 
it.  When  you  have  a  desert  appetite  it  is  possible 
to  enjoy  anything.  Once  my  husband  and  I  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  a  meal  with  an  Arab,  and 
were  regaled  with  chicken  boiled  with  a  green 
vegetable  called  "  barmiya,"  and  pillau.  Our  host 
would  not  eat  with  us,  but  employed  himself  brush- 
ing the  flies  away  from  the  food  as  we  ate. 

The  Arab  dance  is  a  very  weird  performance  to 
watch.  The  men  and  women  all  join  hands,  and 

310 


DESERT    TRAVELLING 

shuffle  with  their  feet,  at  the  same  time  working 
every  muscle  of  the  body  in  a  most  grotesque 
fashion.  As  they  warm  to  the  dance  they  get 
very  much  excited,  yelling  and  shouting  in  a 
frantic  manner. 

These  Arabs  are  the  dreaded  robbers  of  the  desert, 
and  our  guard  always  impressed  upon  us,  when 
travelling,  what  a  dangerous  set  of  people  they 
were.  Every  speck  on  the  horizon  is  magnified 
into  a  probable  Arab ;  and  if  by  chance  one  is 
met  in  the  desert,  the  excitement  is  great.  On 
one  occasion  we  were  riding  in  a  very  lonely  spot 
when  suddenly  an  Arab  horseman  rode  into  view. 
Immediately  our  gallant  guard  swooped  down  upon 
the  unfortunate  man,  asking  him  what  he  meant 
by  spying  upon  our  movements,  for  they  did  not 
think  it  possible  that  he  would  be  there  alone  if  it 
were  not  for  that  object.  The  Arab  assured  us  he 
had  no  such  intentions,  but  had  only  come  to  meet 
a  friend  whom  he  believed  to  be  in  our  caravan. 
However,  our  escort  would  not  credit  his  story,  so 
took  him  prisoner  till  we  had  safely  passed  the 
dangerous  part,  and  then  allowed  him  to  return. 
We  could  not  help  wondering  whether,  if  there 
had  been  twenty  Arabs  instead  of  one,  our  guard 
would  have  been  so  brave. 

Another  time  we  were  crossing  a  huge  track  of 
waterless  desert,  said  to  be  infested  with  marauding 
Arab  tribes,  when  suddenly  we  saw  the  escort  be- 
coming highly  excited,  waving  their  guns  about, 
preparatory  to  galloping  off.  Before  we  had  time 
to  ask  what  it  was  all  about  they  were  off.  We 
were  then  driving  in  a  carriage,  so  making  inquiries 

311 


THE    PLEASURES    OF 

from  our  driver  were  assured  it  was  nothing,  only 
he  pointed  ominously  to  a  long  black  line  seen  far 
away  in  the  distance.  Our  servant  assured  us  this 
was  the  shadow  of  the  mountain,  but  this  was  only 
said  to  reassure  us  in  case  we  felt  alarmed. 

The  "  black  line  "  appeared  to  be  steadily  advanc- 
ing, every  moment  becoming  more  and  more  like  a 
huge  army  of  mounted  men  marching  straight  for 
us.  Our  driver,  thinking,  no  doubt,  of  the  probable 
capture  of  his  horses  by  the  robbers,  lashed  up  the 
poor  beasts  into  a  gallop,  urging  them  on  ever  faster 
and  faster  till  they  could  go  no  quicker.  Our  ser- 
vant, who  was  sitting  on  the  box-seat,  made  valiant 
attempts  to  draw  off  our  thoughts  from  the  impend- 
ing danger,  as  he  thought  the  "  khatoun  "  would  be 
much  frightened.  But  the  "khatoun"  was  not  to 
be  blindfolded,  and  much  preferred  to  see  and  know 
what  was  going  on.  By  this  time  the  "  army  "  had 
assumed  enormous  proportions,  for  as  each  section 
appeared  in  sight,  another  one  loomed  behind,  away 
in  the  distance.  Already  in  my  mind  I  resignedly  (?) 
bade  farewell  to  all  the  contents  of  our  boxes,  as  I 
pictured  the  Arabs  ruthlessly  breaking  them  open 
and  spreading  the  contents  on  the  ground  for  inspec- 
tion and  division.  We  soon  saw  that  we  must  give 
up  the  race,  for  every  moment  brought  us  nearer 
our  dreaded  enemies  ;  till  just  as  we  reached  the  top 
of  a  small  rise  in  the  ground  we  came  face  to  face 
with  our  "army  of  soldiers."  "  Alhamd'llillah  !  "  they 
were  nothing  more  alarming  than  a  huge  cavalcade 
of  about  10,000  camels  being  taken  to  water  in  com- 
panies of  500,  each  company  being  in  charge  of  a 
drover,  the  order  and  regularity  with  which  they 

312 


DESERT    TRAVELLING 

walked  giving  the  impression  that  they  were  regi- 
ments of  mounted  soldiers.  I  fancy  the  alarm  of 
the  guards  and  driver  was  only  assumed  for  our 
benefit,  for  on  our  return  journey  they  began  the 
same  story  at  the  identical  spot,  and  there  again,  sure 
enough,  was  the  steady  advancing  line ;  but  this 
time  we  were  wiser,  and  could  laugh  at  our  would-be 
alarmists. 

Another  time  we  had  just  crossed  a  river  at  the 
end  of  a  long  day's  march,  and  were  enjoying  a  well- 
earned  rest  and  cup  of  tea,  when  our  escort  came 
up  in  great  distress  of  mind  to  say  that  he  had  just 
heard  that  a  band  of  500  armed  men  had  that  morn- 
ing crossed  the  river  with  the  avowed  intention  of 
lying  in  wait  for  the  Feringhi  caravan  and  attacking 
it.  We  were  getting  used  to  alarms  of  this  kind, 
and  at  first  only  laughed  at  their  anxious  faces ; 
but  they  were  so  persistent  in  their  entreaties  that 
we  should  not  remain  on  that  side  of  the  river,  that 
we  began  to  think  that  perhaps,  after  all,  this  time 
they  might  have  foundation  for  their  fears.  So  we 
made  a  compromise  to  the  effect  that,  if  they  wished, 
we  would  pack  up  and  move  on  to  some  village, 
although  we  were  very  tired.  So  with  this  they  had 
to  be  content,  and  it  was  arranged  that  at  midnight 
we  were  to  start.  However,  just  before  turning  in  for 
a  short  rest,  the  guard  again  made  their  appearance, 
this  time  to  say  they  had  considered  that  it  would 
not  be  at  all  safe  to  travel  by  night,  and  that  we 
had  better  wait  till  daylight,  adding  in  the  usual 
way :  "  But  do  not  be  afraid ;  we  will  watch  all  night 
long."  So  we  all  retired  very  thankfully  to  rest. 
It  was  a  very  hot  night,  and  being  unable  to  sleep 

313 


THE    PLEASURES    OF 

I  went  outside  the  tent  door  for  a  little  air,  and 
found  our  gallant  guard  all  fast  asleep  and  snoring. 
In  the  morning  they  assured  us  that  they  had  never 
closed  their  eyes  all  night,  but  had  sat  up  watching 
for  robbers  1 1 

We  had  experienced  once  in  Persia  the  pleasant 
sensation  of  being  lost  when  alone  in  the  desert.  In 
the  Turkish- Arabian  desert  we,  in  company  with 
the  whole  caravan,  were  once  lost,  and  spent  many 
weary  hours  wandering  about  seeking  for  our  right 
road  in  vain.  It  was  a  day  or  two  after  leaving 
Diabekir;  our  escort,  reduced  to  one  soldier  as  the 
road  was  considered  fairly  safe,  was  quite  sure  he 
knew  the  way.  Our  muleteer  and  servants  had 
never  travelled  that  road  before,  so  we  were  com- 
pletely in  the  hands  of  one  man ;  but  as  he  seemed 
quite  sure,  we  did  not  trouble  about  it,  knowing  that 
these  men  are  always  on  the  road  acting  as  escort. 
But  we  soon  found  that  we  were  trusting  to  a  broken 
reed,  so  far  as  his  knowledge  as  a  guide  was  con- 
cerned. We  started  one  day  on  what  we  supposed 
to  be  a  short  stage,  but  to  our  surprise  it  seemed  to 
lengthen  out  into  a  longer  one  than  usual,  till  we 
began  to  despair  of  ever  reaching  the  end.  At  last, 
when  sunset  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  we  began  to 
suspect  that  our  guide  was  not  too  sure  of  his  where- 
abouts ;  and  this  suspicion  soon  changed  to  certainty 
when  we  suddenly  found  ourselves  on  the  top  of  a 
steep  bank,  down  which  it  was  impossible  for  the 
animals  to  climb.  Our  clever  guide  then  confessed 
that  he  did  not  know  where  we  were. 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  we  had  been  riding 
since  early  morning,  so  felt  pretty  tired ;  but  our 

314 


muleteer  said  it  was  quite  out  of  the  question  to 
stay  where  we  were,  as  there  was  no  water  for  the 
animals,  and  the  hills  with  which  we  were  surrounded 
were  known  to  be  full  of  robbers.  So  we  wandered 
on  and  on  and  on,  listening  in  vain  for  some  sound 
of  habitation  and  hearing  none,  longing  even  to  hear 
the  joyful  sound  of  the  barking  of  dogs  or  croaking 
of  frogs,  telling  of  life  and  water ;  but  our  longings 
were  not  to  be  realised  that  night.  At  last,  about 
ten  o'clock,  we  said  we  could  not  possibly  go  any 
further ;  so,  amidst  much  discontent  and  fear  on 
the  part  of  the  men,  we  dismounted  and  declared 
our  intention  of  staying  where  we  were  till  dawn. 
The  animals  were  all  tethered,  and  we  all  sat  round 
in  a  circle,  so  that  if  the  robbers  came  we  should  be 
able  to  show  a  good  front.  The  men  appeared  to 
be  quite  frightened,  and  declared  they  would  not 
sleep,  but  each  would  take  his  turn  at  watching. 
We  were  too  sleepy  to  care  much  whether  the 
robbers  came  or  not,  so  wrapping  ourselves  in 
blankets  we  were  soon  fast  asleep.  Awaking  about 
half-an-hour  later,  I  looked  out  to  see  how  the 
"  watchers  "  were  getting  on,  and  saw  that  they  were 
all  fast  asleep,  covered  up  in  their  abas  or  long 
cloaks.  I  soon  followed  their  example  and  slep, 
till  morning,  no  robbers  having  come  in  the  night 
to  disturb  our  slumbers.  We  discovered  that  we 
had  wandered  a  good  distance  out  of  our  way,  but 
found  the  right  path  soon  after  nine  o'clock,  and 
very  thankful  we  all  were  to  obtain  water  to  drink 
— the  animals  more  so  than  any  of  us,  perhaps. 

Travelling  in  the  desert  is  very  pleasant  if  the 

stage  is  not  a  very  long  one.     To  start  about  sun- 

315 


DESERT    TRAVELLING 

rise  or  a  little  after,  ride  three  or  four  hours,  then 
have  a  lunch  of  bread  and  melons,  and  finish  up 
with  another  three  hours'  ride,  makes  a  very  pleasant 
picnic ;  but  when  the  stage  takes  twelve  or  thirteen 
hours  to  do,  the  pleasure  becomes  a  burden.  At 
the  end  of  a  short  stage  it  is  delightful  to  sit  outside 
our  tent  and  enjoy  the  cool  breeze  of  the  desert,  and 
watch  the  stars  peeping  out  one  after  the  other. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  weather  is  not  such  as  to 
allow  of  this  form  of  enjoyment.  When  we  were 
coming  home  in  1907,  in  crossing  the  desert  we  came 
in  for  some  tremendously  heavy  thunderstorms.  One 
night  we  were  simultaneously  awakened  by  a  tre- 
mendous gust  of  wind  which  threatened  to  bring 
down  the  tent.  We  sprang  up  and  clung  to  the 
poles ;  but  thinking  the  whole  structure  was  bound 
to  fall,  and  preferring  to  be  outside,  I  forsook  my 
pole  to  which  I  had  been  clinging,  and  rushed  out 
into  the  pouring  rain.  My  husband  went  to  call 
some  of  the  men,  and  found  them  all  happily  asleep 
in  the  carriage :  with  great  difficulty  he  awoke  them, 
and  together  they  made  secure  all  the  tent-pegs. 
By  this  time  the  great  fury  of  the  storm  was  over, 
and  we  crept  inside  the  tent,  wet,  cold,  and  miserable. 
Wonderful  to  say,  neither  of  us  caught  cold  after 
our  adventure.  The  next  morning  we  spread  all 
our  wet  bedding,  &c.,  in  the  sun  to  dry ;  and  just  as 
it  was  nearly  ready,  down  came  another  storm  and 
soaked  everything  again.  Such  are  some  of  the  joys 
of  travelling  in  the  desert. 


316 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PIONEER   MEDICAL   MISSION   WORK   IN   MOSUL 
(NINEVEH)  i 

Winning  the  confidence  of  the  people — Native  surgery — Difficulties  to  be 
overcome — Backward  patients — Encouraging  work — Prevalent  diseases 
— Lunatics — Possible  future  of  Mesopotamia. 

"...  My  soul  is  full 
Of  pity  for  the  sickness  of  this  world ; 
Which  I  will  heal,  if  healing  may  be  found  !  " 

SIR  E.  ABNOLD. 

IT  is  often  thought  that  in  the  East,  whenever 
an  English  doctor  arrives  at  a  city,  patients 
throng  to  him  from  all  quarters.  This  is  only  parti- 
ally true,  at  least  in  the  near  East.  If  medicine  and 
attendance  are  granted  free  indiscriminately,  doubt- 
less at  first  crowds  will  ^attend  the  out-patient  de- 
partment, many  coming  merely  out  of  curiosity.  If 
good  work  is  to  be  done,  it  is  better  to  make  some 
charge,  however  small,  exempting  only  the  very 
poor.  This  principle  has,  I  believe,  been  adopted 
by  all  our  medical  missionaries,  and  fees  thus  earned 
go  to  help  in  making  the  work  self-supporting. 

The  European  doctor  in  Persia  or  Turkey  has 
first  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  this  is 
sometimes  no  easy  matter.  On  our  arrival  in  Mosul 
we  rented  a  house  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  which 
had  two  compounds.  We  lived  in  the  inner  com- 
pound, and  made  the  outer  into  a  dispensary  and 
small  hospital.  At  first  everything  looked  rather 

1  By  Dr.  A.  Hume-Griffith. 
317 


PIONEER    MEDICAL    MISSION 

hopeless,  the  house  being  an  old  one  and  nearly  in 
ruins.  However,  we  made  a  big  stable  into  a  waiting- 
room  for  the  patients  ;  other  rooms  were  patched  up 
and  transformed  into  consulting-room,  dispensary, 
operating  theatre,  and  wards,  all  of  a  most  primitive 
kind.  In  this  great  city  of  60,000  to  80,000  people 
our  staff  consisted  of  my  wife  and  me  and  two  native 
assistants,  who  had  been  trained  in  our  Baghdad 
Medical  Mission. 

There  was  no  lack  of  physicians  in  the  city,  but 
excluding  two  or  three  Turkish  army  doctors,  and 
one  or  two  others  with  Constantinople  diplomas, 
the  rest  were  quacks  of  the  most  pronounced  type. 
Nearly  every  old  lady  in  the  city  thinks  herself 
competent  to  treat  diseases  of  the  eye,  the  barbers 
are  the  surgeons,  bone-setters  abound,  hereditary 
physicians  are  by  Qio  means  scarce.  These  latter 
inherit  "  herbal  prescriptions  "  from  their  forefathers, 
and  though  now  forbidden  to  practise  by  the  Turkish 
Government,  yet  contrive  to  visit  many  houses  as  a 
"  friend "  after  dark,  and  earn  enough  for  a  liveli- 
hood. The  Dominicans  (who  have  a  large  Mission 
in  Mosul)  also  give  away  many  medicines,  and  have 
now  a  qualified  native  doctor.  But  though  there  is 
much  "physicking"  in  Mosul,  but  little  surgery 
is  done,  and  that  gives  the  opportunity  for  the 
European  doctor  to  step  in.  Arab  surgery  is  of 
the  crudest  description.  Let  one  sample  suffice.  A 
poor  Arab  woman  was  brought  to  the  dispensary, 
soon  after  we  started  work,  by  her  father.  She 
complained  of  not  being  able  to  breathe  through 
her  nose.  On  examining  her  throat  I  found  that 

the  upper  air  passage  had  become  shut  off  from  the 

318 


WORK    IN    MOSUL 

back  of  the  throat  as  a  result  of  old  inflammation. 
Upon  further  inquiry  I  elicited  the  following  history. 
Two  years  before,  the  patient  had  developed  a  bad 
sore  throat.  Her  father  took  her  to  the  native 
surgeon,  who  had  the  poor  woman's  mouth  held  for- 
cibly open,  while  he  proceeded  to  cure  the  sore  throat 
by  rubbing  it  with  a  red-hot  flattened  piece  of  iron  ! 

Gradually  we  commenced  to  win  the  confidence 
of  the  people  :  they  came  in  ever-increasing  numbers 
to  the  dispensary.  Gathered  together  in  the  waiting- 
room  would  be  a  crowd  composed  of  many  different 
nationalities — Christians,  Moslems,  Jews,  Kurds  from 
the  mountains,  Bedouins  from  the  desert, Yezidees  (the 
so-called  devil- worshippers),  a  motley  throng,  listening 
quietly  and  without  interruption  to  the  reading  and  ex- 
position of  the  Gospel,  ere  passing  one  by  one  through 
the  doctor's  consulting-room,  f«  r  the  treatment  of 
their  multitudinous  diseases.  The  medical  missionary 
is  called  upon  to  do  his  best  to  cure  every  ailment ;  he 
must  be  ready  to  accept  heavy  responsibilities,  there 
are  no  "  specialists  "  to  consult,  often  he  is  without 
the  help  of  any  trained  nurse,  and  in  pioneer  work, 
at  least,  he  has  no  properly  equipped  hospital,  and 
must  perforce  perform  most  serious  operations  under 
the  worst  possible  conditions.  In  addition  to  all 
this,  in  lands  under  Mohammedan  rule  there  is 
always  the  risk  of  a  riot  if  a  patient  should  die  in 
a  Christian  hospital,  especially  on  the  operating 
table.  Yet  despite  all  these  drawbacks,  it  is  a  grand 
life,  revealing  to  a  man  his  own  utter  weakness,  and 
making  him  rely  more  and  more  upon  his  God. 

Soon  we  were  able  to  commence  admitting  in- 
patients,  being  forced  to  limit  admission  to  surgical 

319 


PIONEER    MEDICAL    MISSION 

cases.  At  first  there  was  considerable  difficulty  in 
getting  the  patients  to  come  on  the  actual  day 
fixed  for  the  operation ;  each  one  was  anxious  for 
his  neighbour  to  be  the  first.  Finally  I  was  com- 
pelled to  threaten  to  put  a  black  mark  against  the 
name  of  any  patient  who  had  agreed  to  come  in 
for  operation  and  then  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance, 
adding  that  that  patient  would  have  to  wait  a  long 
time  before  having  a  chance  offered  a  second  time. 
This  had  the  desired  effect,  a  woman  needing  a 
small  eyelid  operation  being  the  first  to  brave  the 
terrors  of  the  Feringhi  hospital. 

In  due  course,  instruments  and  dressings  all 
having  been  prepared,  the  patient,  in  a  condition 
of  mortal  terror,  was  led  into  the  operating  room, 
and  induced  to  lie  on  the  table.  But  alas,  her  fears 
gained  the  mastery,  and  she  instantly  jumped  up, 
ran  out  of  the  room,  and  disappeared  from  the 
dispensary.  This  was  not  encouraging,  but  a  few 
days  later  a  little  Jew  boy  suffering  from  vesical 
stone  (a  very  common  disease  in  Mosul,  especially 
amongst  children)  was  brought  to  the  hospital  by 
his  father.  We  persuaded  him  to  enter  the  hospital 
with  his  boy,  and  thus  finally  gained  our  first  in- 
patient.  The  stone  having  been  removed,  and  the 
boy  making  a  good  recovery,  we  had  no  further 
difficulty  in  getting  in-patients.  Our  six  wooden 
beds  soon  all  had  occupants,  then  we  added  six  more 
beds  ;  finally,  obtaining  a  neighbouring  house  for  our 
own  residence,  we  made  our  old  house  (the  inner 
compound)  into  a  small  hospital  for  women  and 
children.  Thus  we  were  able  to  accommodate 
twenty-four  patients,  and  as  each  had  at  least  one 

320 


WORK    IN    MOSUL 

friend,  we  often  had  over  fifty  people  resident  on 
the  premises.  It  is  this  in-patient  work  that  gives 
the  most  encouraging  opportunities  to  the  medical 
missionary.  There  in  his  little  hospital  he  has 
patients  of  all  creeds,  lying  side  by  side ;  many  have 
been  relieved  or  cured  by  operation,  and  will  listen 
gratefully  to  all  the  teaching  they  can  get.  Each 
patient  before  the  operation  hears  the  doctor  pray 
a  short  prayer,  asking  God  to  bless  the  operation 
and  cause  it  to  be  successful.  Day  after  day,  week 
after  week,  he  receives  instruction,  and  gains  an 
entirely  new  idea  of  what  Christianity  really  is,  and 
when  he  leaves  the  mission  hospital  and  returns 
to  his  home,  whether  in  the  city  or  in  a  distant 
mountain  village,  all  his  old  bitter  opposition  to 
Christianity  has  disappeared,  and  often  he  will  send 
other  patients  for  treatment  to  the  English  mission. 
The  following  statistics,  for  two  years  only,  may 
prove  interesting,  as  showing  the  far-reaching  in- 
fluence of  even  a  badly  equipped,  undermanned 
medical  mission:— 

Total  attendance  of  out-patients .         .         .     24,519 
Operations  performed  |  3?2  M?J°J  |  .  569 

Total  number  of  in-patients  .         .         .  288 

Number  of  villages  and  towns,  excluding 
Mosul,  from  which  patients  have  come 
to  the  dispensary  ....  348 

This  last  item  is  especially  interesting ;  excluding 
Mosul  (from  which  naturally  most  of  our  patients 
are  drawn),  348  different  towns  and  villages  (some  as 
many  as  ten  days'  journey)  have  sent  us  patients,  and 
yet  the  work  is  barely  started  ! 

x 


PIONEER    MEDICAL    MISSION 

To  illustrate  the  effect  of  a  medical  mission  in 
disarming  opposition,  I  may  add  that,  in  1907,  when 
it  was  feared  that,  owing  to  the  need  for  retrench- 
ment, the  Society  would  have  to  close  the  work  in 
Mosul,  a  petition,  signed  by  most  of  the  prominent 
Mohammedan  residents,  including  the  chief  mullahs, 
was  brought  to  me,  asking  that  I  would  remit  it 
at  once  to  the  Society.  It  was  a  request  that 
the  Medical  Mission  should  not  be  withdrawn,  as 
it  had  been  such  a  boon  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city.  In  a  very  wonderful  manner  God  heard  and 
answered  our  prayers,  and  the  Mission  is  not  to 
be  closed,  but  rather  it  is  hoped  to  equip  it  more 
thoroughly. 

The  operations  most  frequently  called  for  in 
Mosul  are  those  for  "  cataract "  and  vesical  stone, 
but  patients  come  with  many  other  diseases,  both 
surgical  and  medical.  The  city  is  'full  of  phthisis ; 
the  insanitary  conditions  under  which  the  vast 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  live  favour  its  rapid  dis- 
semination. Smallpox  and  typhoid  fever  are  very 
common,  and  once  these  diseases  have  been  definitely 
diagnosed,  neither  the  patient  nor  his  friends  will 
permit  any  further  medical  treatment.  For  the 
latter  disease  the  patient  is  kept  on  fairly  strict  diet 
until  he  "  perspires."  This  to  the  native  mind  de- 
notes the  end  of  all  possible  danger,  so  he  is  then 
pressed  to  eat  anything  and  everything,  with  disas- 
trous results.  Malaria,  dysentery,  hepatic  abscesses 
are  also  rife ;  there  have  also  been  epidemics  of 
cholera  and  plague,  but  not  of  late  years.  Once  the 
projected  Baghdad  Railway  (which  will  pass  through 
Mosul)  is  an  accomplished  fact,  we  may  expect  the 


WORK    IN    MOSUL 

importation   of  plague  from   the  south,  unless  the 
most  stringent  precautions  are  taken. 

The  Bedouin  Arab  can  rarely  be  persuaded  to 
stop  in  the  city  ;  after  the  freedom  of  life  in  the 
desert,  he  feels  stifled  within  the  four  walls  of  a 
house.  Ere  leaving  Mosul  I  had  a  curious  demon- 
stration of  this  fact.  An  old  blind  Arab  was 
brought  to  me  by  his  son,  suffering  from  double 
cataract.  I  told  him  that  by  means  of  a  simple 
operation  he  might  once  again  be  able  to  see,  but 
that  he  would  have  to  stay  in  the  hospital  for  a  few 
days.  He  indignantly  refused,  saying  he  would 
rather  remain  blind  the  rest  of  his  life  than  sleep 
beneath  a  roof.  In  vain  did  his  son  plead  with  him, 
and  finding  that  I  would  not  operate  at  once  and 
allow  him  to  be  treated  as  an  out-patient,  the  old 
man  went  sorrowfully  away. 

Every  in-patient  admitted  had  to  bring  a  friend 
to  help  to  nurse  him,  as  we  had  no  proper  hospital 
equipment  and  no  trained  nurse.  Only  twice  in  the 
three  years  did  I  break  this  rule,  both  times  with 
disastrous  results.  The  first  was  a  poor  old  man 
from  a  village  some  days'  journey  from  Mosul.  He 
was  poor  and  friendless,  also  blind  with  "  cataract " ; 
reluctantly  I  allowed  myself  to  be  influenced  by  his 
pathetic  pleadings,  and  admitted  him  without  any 
one  to  look  after  him.  Prior  to  his  admission  he 
had  been  bitten  on  the  calf  of  one  leg  by  a  dog,  and 
complaining  of  pain  from  this  wound,  we  dressed  it 
with  a  simple  boracic  fomentation.  Unfortunately 
this  dressing  was  forgotten  and  left  on  the  leg.  The 
eye  was  in  due  course  operated  upon  successfully, 
and  the  patient  received  the  usual  strict  injunction 

323 


PIONEER    MEDICAL    MISSION 

to  lie  still  for  twenty-four  hours.  At  the  first  dress- 
ing everything  seemed  all  right ;  two  days  later  I 
found  to  my  sorrow  that  the  eye  had  suppurated, 
and  that  there  was  no  hope  of  saving  the  vision. 
The  strictest  inquiry  was  at  once  instituted,  but  for 
some  time  we  could  discover  no  clue  as  to  how  the 
eye  had  become  infected ;  then  the  truth  came  out. 
It  appeared  that  the  second  night  after  the  operation 
the  old  man  commenced  to  feel  a  slight  pricking 
pain  in  the  eye  that  had  been  operated  upon  (not 
an  uncommon  symptom  after  "  cataract"  extraction, 
with  no  bad  significance  as  a  rule).  The  pain  seemed 
similar  to  that  which  he  had  felt  in  his  leg,  which 
had  been  relieved  by  the  application  of  the  boracic 
fomentation.  The  patient  reasoned  thus  with  him- 
self :  "  It  is  night  time,  I  had  better  not  call  for 
the  doctor  ;  but  the  medicine  on  my  eye  is  evidently 
doing  no  good,  while  that  put  on  my  leg  cured  a 
similar  pain  to  this  at  once,  so  I  had  better  take  off 
this  bandage  from  my  eye  and  replace  it  with  the 
one  on  my  leg "  !  This  he  had  proceeded  to  do, 
and  consequently  lost  his  newly  acquired  sight. 

The  other  case  was  somewhat  similar,  but  the 
patient  was  a  fanatical  Moslem  priest,  whom  I  after- 
wards found  out  was  a  well-known  "  majnoon  "  (mad- 
man). He  also  had  been  admitted  alone,  and  we 
had  but  little  trouble  with  him  until  after  the 
operation  (also  for  "cataract")  had  been  performed. 
A  few  hours  later  my  assistant  came  running  to  me, 
and  said  :  "  Doctor,  that  old  cataract  patient  declares 
that  he  must  and  he  will  say  his  prayers.  We  have 
done  our  best  to  prevent  him,  but  in  vain."  Now 
a  Mohammedan,  before  he  prays,  performs  certain 

324 


ablutions,  which  include  washing  his  hands  and  face  ; 
so  I  at  once  ran  up  to  the  ward,  but,  alas  !  we  arrived 
too  late.  The  old  priest  had  taken  off  his  bandage, 
washed  his  face  and  hands,  said  his  prayers,  and  was 
quite  unable  to  understand  why  the  Hakim  Sahib 
should  be  angry  !  We  gave  the  poor  old  man  some 
lotion  and  a  shade  for  his  eye,  and  sent  him  back  to 
his  home  (as  he  lived  in  Mosul),  refusing  to  accept 
any  further  responsibility.  Some  weeks  later  my 
assistant  met  the  old  priest  in  the  bazaar,  quite 
pleased  with  himself,  for  he  had  actually  obtained 
sufficient  sight  to  find  his  way  about  alone. 

Fortunately  the  majority  of  the  patients  are 
more  reasonable,  and  quickly  learn  to  submit  more 
or  less  to  "  hospital  regulations."  Children  sometimes 
proved  troublesome,  especially  boys,  when  accom- 
panied by  a  crowd  of  relations.  I  remember  one 
morning,  when  making  my  daily  round,  coming 
across  a  group  of  people  surrounding  a  little  boy  six 
years  of  age.  He  had  been  ordered  a  dose  of  castor 
oil,  and  had  made  up  his  obstinate  little  mind  that 
he  would  not  take  the  nasty  stuff.  Being  a  boy,  and 
only  son  and  heir,  he  had  been  spoilt  most  royally. 
Father,  mother,  aunt,  grandmother,  and  friends  each 
in  turn  tried  persuasion,  varied  by  gentle  threats,  all 
in  vain.  He  beat  and  (I  am  sorry  to  say)  cursed  the 
women,  his  mother  included,  and  sullenly  refused  to 
accept  the  medicine  from  his  father,  despite  sundry 
promises  of  sweets,  money,  &c. 

After  watching  the  scene  with  some  amusement 
I  stepped  forward,  took  the  cup  containing  the  ob- 
noxious castor  oil,  and  forcibly  administered  the 
dose  without  regarding  the  boy's  shrieks  and  tears. 

325 


Then  I  read  the  parents  a  little  lecture  upon  the  evil 
result  of  spoiling  their  children,  which  I  fear  had  but 
scant  result. 

Often  do  I  feel  ashamed  as  I  note  how  patiently 
pain  and  diseases  are  borne  by  these  poor  people. 
It  is  always  "  the  will  of  God,"  and  therefore  there 
is  no  use  complaining,  and  little  use  rebelling.  Time 
after  time  have  I  had  to  gently  break  the  news  to 
some  poor  patient,  who  may  have  come  long  dis- 
tances to  see  the  English  doctor,  that  his  blindness 
could  not  be  cured  by  operation,  being  caused  by 
what  is  popularly  known  as  black  cataract  (glau- 
coma). A  few  (usually  women)  would  go  away 
weeping,  but  the  vast  majority  both  of  men  and 
women  would  quietly  respond,  "  Alhamd'llillah " 
(Praise  be  to  God),  with  but  little  sign  of  emotion. 

So  far  as  I  know  there  is  but  one  asylum  for 
cases  of  mental  diseases  in  the  whole  of  the  Turkish 
Empire,  and  that  one  is  at  Asfariyeh,  near  Beyrout, 
and  belongs  to  an  English  society.  The  usual 
method  of  dealing  with  lunatics  in  Mosul  is,  if  they 
are  apparently  harmless,  that  they  are  allowed  to 
wander  about  freely  and  treated  kindly ;  but  once 
they  develop  symptoms  of  mania  they  are  treated 
as  wild  beasts,  put  into  a  dark  room,  and  chained  to 
a  wall.  But  we  possess  a  specialist  in  "  mental 
diseases"  in  Mosul,  belonging  to  an  old  Moham- 
medan family,  who  has  a  great  reputation  for  the 
treatment  of  "  lunatics."  In  the  courtyard  of  his 
house  he  has  had  dug  several  deep  wells,  and  beside 
each  well  is  placed  a  large  tub,  having  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  which  communicates  with  the  well.  The 

poor  madman  is  made  to  work  from  sunrise  to  sunset, 

326 


WORK    IN    MOSUL 

drawing  water  from  the  well  and  pouring  it  into  the 
perforated  tub,  being  told  that  he  may  leave  off  when 
he  has  filled  the  tub.  If  he  refuses  to  work,  he  is 
unmercifully  beaten.  Several  cures  are  said  to  have 
resulted  from  this  treatment. 

There  is  nothing  so  potent  as  the  in-patient  work 
of  a  hospital  in  overcoming  opposition.  Amongst 
our  numerous  "  cataract "  patients  was  an  Arab  from 
Singar  (a  mountainous  district  near  Mosul).  He 
came  armed  with  a  perfectly  unnecessary  introduc- 
tion, in  the  shape  of  a  letter  from  one  of  the  chief 
Mohammedans  in  the  city.  After  he  had  regained 
his  sight  and  had  left  the  hospital,  ere  returning  to 
his  mountain  home  he  went  to  this  "  big "  Moslem 
to  thank  him.  He  found  himself  the  centre  of  a 
large  and  curious  throng,  who  questioned  him  severely 
upon  his  experiences  in  the  "  Christian "  hospital. 
Some  of  the  more  fanatical  (it  was  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Mission)  did  not  scruple  to  speak  against  the 
hospital  and  the  English  hakim ;  but,  like  the  man 
in  St.  John's  Gospel,  this  Arab  was  not  afraid  to 
testify  of  what  had  been  done  for  him,  "  for,"  said  he, 
"  you  can  say  what  you  like — one  thing  I  know, 
before  I  was  blind,  now  I  can  see." 

But  enough — I  fear  to  tire  my  readers ;  but  ere 
closing  I  would  like  just  to  refer  to  the  possible 
future  of  Mesopotamia.  One  thing  is  certain,  a 
few  years  more  will  exhibit  great  changes.  I  have 
already  referred  to  the  Baghdad  Railway.  As  I 
write  it  is  rumoured  that  the  German  Government 
have  at  last  obtained  a  further  concession  from  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  which  will  allow  them  to  continue 
the  line  another  five  hundred  miles,  piercing  Mount 

327 


MEDICAL   MISSION  WORK 

Taurus  and  reaching  near  to  the  city  of  Mardin 
(some  ten  days'  journey  north  of  Mosul).  When 
this  is  accomplished  the  rest  of  the  work  is  quite 
simple.  The  line  from  Mardin  to  Baghdad  (passing 
through  Mosul)  should  present  no  difficulties,  and 
Mosul  (with  the  ruins  of  Nineveh)  will  become  easy 
of  access  from  Europe. 

In  the  next  place  there  is  the  question  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Tigris.  Ere  long  there  is  no  doubt 
that  boats  will  be  allowed  to  come  up  the  river 
from  Baghdad  to  Mosul,  and  possibly  on  up  to 
Diabekir  (300-400  miles  north  of  Mosul).  This  will 
mean  an  enormous  increase  in  trade,  both  in  imports 
and  exports. 

Finally,  there  is  that  fascinating  problem  of  the 
irrigation  of  the  Mesopotamian  desert.  The  remains 
of  old  canals  are  still  visible,  and  it  needs  nothing 
but  an  energetic  government  willing  to  spend  a 
comparatively  small  sum,  plus  the  services  of  a 
capable  engineer,  to  transform  the  whole  of  that 
desert  between  the  two  great  rivers  Euphrates  and 
Tigris  into  a  veritable  Garden  of  Eden,  even  as  it 
must  have  been  in  the  days  of  old,  when  huge  armies 
were  able  to  find  sufficient  provender  for  man  and 
beast  throughout  the  whole  of  that  vast  region.  The 
"  finale  "  of  that  great  province,  containing  the  ruins 
of  so  many  ancient  cities,  has  not  yet  been  written  ; 
and  there  are  many  signs  which  tend  to  suggest  to 
the  thoughtful  observer  that,  ere  another  century 
has  passed,  Mesopotamia  may  once  again  take  its 
place,  and  that  no  mean  position,  amongst  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth ! 


328 


INDEX 


Abdul  Fateh,  our  pishlchcdmat,  78 

Aganoor,  Dr.,  146 

Agha  Mohammed  Khan,  Kerman 
sacked  by,  31 

Alexander  marched  through  Ker- 
man, 31 

All,  "The  Lion  of  God,"  19 

Aliabad,  the  village  of,  66 

American  mission,  the,  27 

Amputation,  how  regarded,  142 

Anderoon,  the,  68,  87  ;  of  the  Zil- 
es-Sultan,  93 

Animals,  cruelty  to,  137 

Anjiman,  the,  a  Parsee  governing 
body,  129 

Ants,  a  pest  of  white,  73 ;  their 
ravages,  75 

Arab  dancing,  a  weird  performance, 
310 

women,  their  love  of  free- 
dom, 191  ;  industry  of,  309 

Arabs  of  Mesopotamia,  the,  309 ; 
hospitality  of,  310  ;  dancing,  311 
—  of  Mosul,  the,  190 

Arak,  a  favourite  drink,  269 

"Arg,"  the  Governor's  residence, 
110 

Ark,  remains  of  the,  177 

Armenians,  their  virtues  and  vices, 
28 

Asshur,  remains  of,  179 

"  At  Home,"  our,  85 


Bab,  the,  founder  of  Babism,  116  ; 
imprisonment,  117 ;  execution, 
118 

Babism,  its  origin  and  founder, 
116 

Bdd  geers,  or  "  wind-catchers,"  in 
Yezd,  54 

Baghdad  railway,  the,  184  ;  its  im- 
portance to  Mosul,  328 

Bagi,  our  servant,  69,  79,  85 

Barado3us,  Jacob,  a  Syrian  re- 
former, 190 

Bathing  in  the  Tigris,  203 

Bazaar,  an  exciting  experience  in 
the  Kerman,  80 

Beauty  specialists,  Persian  women 
as,  104 

Bedouin,  the,  as  an  in-patient, 
323 

Bedouins,  the,  191 

Beggars,  a  saying  among,  32 

Blackett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  57 

Blackett's,  Mr.,  valuable  library 
and  the  white  ants,  75 

Boy's  birth,  celebrations  at  a,  211; 
education,  213 

Brass-work  of  Isphahan,  the,  47 

Bread-making,  255 

Brick-making,  73 

Brick  pillars  for  capital  punish- 
ment, 138 

Bride,  a  Persian,  101 


INDEX 


Bridge  of  boats  at  Mosul,  176 
Burials,  danger  of  hasty,  250 

C 

Calico  printing  at  Isphahan,  47 

Caravanserais,  132 

Carless,  Mr.,  death  of,  57 

Carpet,  how  to  improve,  41 ;  how 
to  tell  a  good  one,  42 ;  prices, 
43 ;  Kurdistan,  43 

Carpet  manufactories,  40 

Carr,  Dr.,  150 

Carriages,  scarcity  of,  26 

Cataract  among  the  Persians,  154 

operations  for,  322 

patients,  168 

Cats,  Persia  a  land  of,  22  ;  expor- 
tation of,  23 

Cawals,  or  preachers  of  the  Yezi- 
dees,  288 

Cellars  as  dwelling-rooms  in  hot 
weather,  54 

Census,  taking  a,  at  Mosul,  301 

Centipede,  the  girl  and  the  imagi- 
nary, 275 

Chaldeans  in  Mosul,  the,  188 

Chappa  khanehs,  or  post-houses, 
133 

Character  of  the  Persian  women, 
84 

of   the    Persians,    60 ;    their 

politeness,  81 

Charamika,  an  ancient  belief,  178 

Chebar,  or  Khabour,  River,  257 

Children  employed  in  carpet -weav- 
ing, 44 

Persian,  91 ;  Parsee,  122 

-spoilt,  208;    of  Mosul,  221; 
early  contamination,  222 

"  Chimneys  "  of  Yezd,  the,  54 

Christians  in  Mosul,  188 

Chuddar,  the,  98 

Climate    of    Persia,   the,   50;     of 


Teheran,  51  ;    of  Isphahan,  52; 

of  Kerman,  57 

Coffee  making  and  drinking,  254 
Cook,  our,  76 
Cookery,  Persian,  226-7 
Copper-work  of  Kashan,  the,  47 
Costume  of  Persian  women,  95  ;  of 

Parsee  women,  126 
Cotton  grown  about  Mosul,  182 
Cultivation  about  Mosul,  182 
"  Cup  of  coffee,"  the  danger  in  a,  88 
Cyrus  returned  from  India  by  way 

of  Kerman,  31 

D 

Dalchnehs,  or  Towers    of    Silence, 

128 

Demavend,  Mount,  51 
Dervish,  the,  112 
Desert,  magnetic  attractions  of  the, 

130;  songs  of,  131 

travelling  in  the,   its  mono- 
tony,  294 ;    a    puppy,    294  ;    a 
kitten,    295 ;     a    murder,    296  ; 
thieves  in  the  tent,  298 ;  com- 
pensation,   300;    its    pleasures, 
307 ;     flowers    and    fruit,    308 ; 
Arabs     of     Mesopotamia,     309; 
robbers   of  the  desert,  311 ;   a 
false     alarm,     312 ;    lost,    314 ; 
thunderstorms,  316 

Devil-worshippers,  Yezidees  or,  284 

Difficult  patients,  323-5 

Dinner,  a  Persian,  100 

Dinner-party,  the  Governor's,  82 

"  Discoveries  at  Nineveh,"  Layard's, 
185 

Diseases  in  Mosul,  the  most  fre- 
quent, 322 

native  treatment  of,  160 

Divorce,  easiness  of,  103,  232 
Dogs  and  the  jackals,  legend   of 

the,  37 


330 


INDEX 


Dream,  a  "  faked,"  how  a  gold 
watch  was  recovered,  262  ;  the 
mullah's,  264 ;  Indian  servant's, 
265 

Dreams  and  visions,  the  belief  in, 
260;  the  soldiers  in  the  ward, 
267 

Drunken  Moslem,  the  judge  and 
the,  270 


E 


Eclipse  at  Yezd,  effect  of  an,  21 

Elburz  Mountains,  the,  51 

Elkosh,  village  of,  179 

Evil  Eye,  the,  250 

Eye  diseases,  prevalence  of,  153 


Fakirs,    an    order    of    priesthood 

amongst  the  Yezidees,  289 
Fasts,  108 

Fatalism,  217  ;  of  the  women,  235 
Feasting  at  a  birth,  211  ;  weddings, 

247  ;  at  funerals,  248  ;  at  Christ- 
mas and  Easter,  254 

Ferry-boat  on  the  Tigris,  a,  207 
Fever,   native   method   of  curing, 

282 

Fighting  amongst  women,  241 
Fire-worship  among  the  Parsees, 

121 
Fruit  and    vegetables    at   Mosul, 

183 
Funerals,  feasting  at,  248 ;  wailers, 

248  ;  custom  after  a  death,  249  ; 
bitter  coffee,  254 

Furs  exported  from  Mosul,  184 


G 


Galah  i   Doukhta,  or   Fort  of  the 
Maiden,  32 


Galeem,  a  kind  of  rug,  46 
Gambling  habit,  the,  272 
Garden  of  Eden,  the,  198 
Girl's  birth,  no  celebrations  at  a, 

215 ;     neglect     of    girls,     216 ; 

education,  217 


Hadji  Hussein  Pasha,  repairs  the 
walls  of  Mosul,  179 

Halawwi,  a  sweetmeat,  183 

Hamadan<5  Sultand,  Princess,  90 

Ilammam,  or  bath,  the,  65 ; 
women's  one  place  of  recrea- 
tion, 242 

Hammam  All.  sulphur  bath  near 
Mosul,  195 

Hareems  of  Mosul,  the,  224  ;  jeal- 
ousy in,  229 

Hassain  and  Hussein,  the  mourn- 
ing for,  109,  157 

Health  of  Europeans  at  Kerman, 
58 

"  Hereditary  physicians,"  318 

Herodotus,  mention  of  Kerman  by, 
31 

"  Home  life,"  lack  of,  86,  231 

Horses,  Arab,  310 

Hoze,  or  water-tank,  the,  54 

Hunting,  69 

Husband,  a  brutal,  102 

Hydrophobia,  how  a  sheikh  averts, 
282 

Hysteria  amongst  Persian  women, 
161 


Ice,  how  it  is  made  at  Isphahan,  53 
Industries   of   Persia,   40,   47  ;    of 

Mosul,  183 

Irrigation  about  Mosul,  182  ;  As- 
syrian method,  184 


331 


INDEX 


Irrigation  of  the  Mesopotamian 
desert,  the,  328 

Isphahan,  journey  to,  17  ;  arrival 
at,  18 

settlement  of  Armenians  at, 

28 ;  Europeans  at,  28 ;  Jews  at, 
29 ;  calico  printing,  47  ;  brass- 
work  of,  47  ;  poppy  growing,  48  ; 
climate  of,  52  ;  ice-house,  53  ; 
social  life,  71 ;  Medical  Mission, 
141  ;  population,  145  ;  arch- 
bishops, 145 


Jackals  of  the  desert,  legend  of 
the,  37 

Jacobite  section  of  the  Christian 
Church  at  Mosul,  190 

Jalal  el  Dowleh,  H.B.H.  the,  66, 
144,  165 

Jews,  the,  28 ;  a  degraded  class, 
29 ;  of  Mosul,  193 

Jezirah,  village  of,  177 

Jinns  and  goblins,  belief  in,  166 

Jonah,  the  tomb  of,  175 

Judy,  mountain,  177 

Judy,  our  servant,  superstitions  of, 
280 

Julfa,  18 ;  Armenians  at,  28 ;  medi- 
cal mission  at,  141 


K 

Ka'aba  at  Mecca,  the,  193 

Kabobs,  225 

Kajdvah,  the,  as  a  means  of  travel- 
ling, 23 ;  the  government  official 
and  his  wife,  24 

Kalah  Shurgat,  an  Assyrian  ruin, 
179 

Kalian,  the,  or  water-pipe,  49 


KaUmat,    the,    or    declaration    of 

faith,  106 
Kandts,  or  tunnels  for  supplying 

water,  48 

Karduchi,  the,  or  Parthians,  192 
Kashan,  silk-weaving  at,  46 

the  copper-work  of,  47 

Keleg,  or  raft  of  the  Tigris,  201 
Kerman,  medical  work  opened  at, 
17 ;  arrival  at,  18 ;  a  cloud  of 
locusts,  22  ;  Jews  at,  29 ;  first 
view  of,  30;  derivation  of  the 
name,  31 ;  antiquity  of,  31  ; 
vicissitudes,  31  ;  poverty  of,  32 ; 
ancient  Kerman,  33 ;  legend  of 
the  jackals,  37  ;  carpet-making, 
43 ;  children  employed  in  carpet- 
weaving,  44 ;  shawl  manufac- 
tories, 46  ;  climate,  57  ;  social 
life,  71 ;  recreations,  79 ;  Par- 
sees,  120 ;  establishment  of 
Medical  Mission,  151 ;  native 
surgery,  153 ;  a  trying  operation, 
155 ;  an  opium  patient,  158 

the  beautiful  traitress  of,  36 

Khan    Baba   Khan,   the   anderoon 

of,  88 

Kissing  the  hand,  250 
Koork,  a  species  of  goat,  46 
Korsi,  the,  or  stove,  52 
Kouyunjik,  one  of  the  mounds  of 

Nineveh,  173,  175 
Kurdistan  carpets,  43 
Kurds,  the,  192 


Lahaf,  the,  or  padded  quilt,  52 
Landor,  Mr.  Savage,  72 
Layard  and  the  Yezidees,  286 
Layard's  "  Discoveries  at  Nineveh," 

185 
Leasing  our  house  at  Kerman,  72 


332 


INDEX 


Lebban,  a  species  of  junket,  226 

Life  on  the  roof,  56 

Lion  and  the  Sun,  origin   of   the 

symbol,  19 

"  Little  devil,"  the,  141 
Locusts,  22 

Looms  for  carpet-weaving,  43 
Lost  in  the  desert,  314 

M 

"  Magi,"  the,  120 

Mahoon,  our  holiday  at,  63 

Mahullah,  or  quarter  of  the  town, 
226 

Malek  el  Taous,  or  peacock  of  the 
Yezidees,  286 

Marvan,  the  walls  of  Mosul  built 
by,  178 

Meddqul  of  native  servants,  18 

Medical  Missions,  140  ;  at  Kerman, 
151 ;  at  Yezd,  164 

Mental  diseases,  an  asylum  for,  326 

Mirages,  131 

Mirza  AH  Muhammed,  the  founder 
of  Babism,  116 

Mirza  Yahya,  the  second  Bab,  119 

Mohammed  and  the  Jews,  193 

Mohurram,  the  month  of,  109 

Mono-rail,  an  ancient,  179 

Mosaics  of  Shiraz,  the,  47 

Moslems,  28 

Moslem  women,  18 

Mosquitoes  and  sandilies,  90 

Mosul,  fasting  by  the  women  of, 
174  ;  bridge  of  boats,  176  ;  con- 
quered, 178  ;  besieged  by  Saladin, 
178 ;  vicissitudes  of,  178 ; 
climate,  179  ;  spring,  181  ;  rain, 
181 ;  cultivation,  182  ;  indus- 
tries, 183 ;  population,  186, 
190  ;  Mohammedans  and  Chris- 
tians, 187  ;  Arabs,  190  ;  Kurds, 
192;  Jews,  193;  racing,  194; 


Hamuiam  Ali,  195;  children, 
208  ;  women,  219  ;  hareems,  223  ; 
a  census  at,  301 ;  disorders,  303  ; 
a  woman  doctor,  303 ;  frequent 
robberies,  304 ;  violence  and 
murder,  305  ;  surgery  not  much 
practised,  318;  interesting  sta- 
tistics, 321 ;  a  petition,  322 ;  a 
cataract  patient,  323  ;  the  Mos- 
lem priest,  324 

Mujtihcds,  or  Moslem  archbishops, 
145 

Mullah,  the  dead,  147 

Mullahs  or  priests,  107,  1 13  ;  their 
great  influence,  114,  145 

N 

Nabbi  Eunice,  one  of  the  mounds 

of  Nineveh,  173 
Nahar-as-Salam,  or  Tigris,  199 
Nahum,     the     prophet,    supposed 

burial-place  of,  179 
Namads,  species  of  carpet,  46 
Names  given  according  to  a  person's 

characteristic,  274 
"  Nasoeb,"  or  "  Kismet,"  217,  235 
Natanz,  the  village  of,  61 
Neamat  'Allah,  our  "  showman,"  77 
"  Nerve  "  trouble  amongst  Euro- 
peans, the  cause  of,  52 
Nestorians  in  Mosul,  189;  massacre 

by  Kurds,  190 
Nineveh,  Kouyunjik,   and   Nabbi 

Eunice,    173 ;    remains  of,   174  ; 

bridge  of  boats,  176 

O 

Omar    el   Khattab,  conqueror    of 

Mosul,  178 

Operations,  most  frequent,  322 
Opium  cultivation,  49 


333 


INDEX 


Opium  habit,  the,  75  ;  in  Yezd,  167 
patient,  an,  158 


Parsee  wedding,  a,  123 

women  and  children,  122 

Parsees  or  Zoroastrians,  28,  120  ; 

ceremony  at  death,  127 
Patchwork     and      embroidery    of 

Resht,  46 
Patriarch  of  the  Nestorians,  the, 

how  he  is  chosen,  189 
Peacock,   the,  the   symbol  of  the 

Yezidee  religion,  286 
Persia,  the  Land  of  the  Lion  and 

the  Sun,  19  ;  inhabitants  of,  28  ; 

industries   of,  40 ;    agricultural 

industries  of,  47  ;  climate  of,  50 
Persian  desert,  illness  in  the,  17 
Persians,  procrastinating  character 

of  the,  60  ;  their  politeness,  81 ; 

superstitions  of  the,  166 

of  to-day,  the,  28 

Phillott,  Major,  his  fight  against 

the  sweating  of  children,  45 
Pilgrimages,  107 1 
Pirs,  the,  an  order  of  priesthood 

amongst  the  Yezidees,  287 
Poppy,  the  cultivation  of  the,  48 
Prayer,  the  call  to,  107 
Prayer    stones    in     Sheikh    Adi's 

shrine,  292 

Prince's  vagaries,  a,  92 
Pulivagoon,  the  village  of,  62 

Q 

Quacks,  native,  160, 165  ;  in  Mosul, 
318 

R 

Eafts  on  the  Tigris,  200 
Rain  at  Mosul,  181 


Rain  in  Persia,  20 
Rainfall  in  Resht,  the,  50 
Ramadan,  the  month  of,  108 
Rassam,   Mr.,   and    the    Yezidees, 

285 

Recreations  of  Kerman,  79 
Religious  bodies,  112 
Resht,    silk-weaving,     patchwork, 

and  embroidery  of,  46  ;    rainfall, 

50 

Rest-houses  of  Persia,  the,  132 
Riding,    a    way  of    travelling    in 

Persia,  23 

Robbers  of  the  desert,  the,  311 
Roof,  life  on  the,  56 
Rustem,  our  parlour-maid,  77 

S 

Saladin,  siege  of    Mosul  by,  178, 

192 

Sand-storms,  21 

Satan,  the  Yezidees'  idea  of,  286 
Savabs,  or  good  works,  the  doctrine 

of,  156 

Scent,  superstition  about,  277 
Scorpions  at  Yezd,  55 
Servant  problem  at  Kerman,  the, 

75 

Servants,  cheating  by  native,  18 
Seyyids,  the,  a  religious  body,  113 
Shammar  clan  of  Arabs,  the,  191 
Shawl  manufactories   in  Kerman, 

46 
Sheikh  Adi,  the  patron  saint  of  the 

Yezidees,    287 ;    shrine    of    the 

serpent   on   the   porch,   291  ;    a 

great  teacher,  291 
Matti,     superstition    about, 

281 
Naser,    high-priest    of     the 

Yezidees,  284 
Sheikhs,   an   order   of    priesthood 

amongst  the  Yezidees,  287 


INDEX 


Shiah  Mohammedans,  113 
Shiraz,    the    silver-work    of,    47  ; 
mosaics  of,  47  ;  the  birthplace  of 
the  Bab,  116 

Silk-weaving  in  Persia,  46 
Silver-work  of  Shiraz,  the,  47 
Sirddbs,  or  underground  rooms,  180 
Social  customs  :  kissing  the  hand, 
250 ;  rising,  251  ;  sending  trays 
of  cooked   meats,    252 ;    distri- 
buting food,  252  ;  giving  coffee, 
253  ;  bread-making,  255 
Specialist  in  mental  diseases,  a,  326 
Statistics  of  the   Mosul    Medical 

Mission,  321 

Storks,  superstition  about,  279 
Stuart,  Dr.  Emmeline,  150 
Suleyman  Khan,  execution  of,  119 
Summer  at  Isphahan,  62  ;  at  Yezd, 

53 
Sun,  the,  the  emblem  of  the  Fire 

Worshippers,  19 
Sunnis,  113 
Sunset  effects  in  the  desert,  131 

a  wonderful,  258 

Sunshine,  Persia  a  land  of,  19 
Superstitions  of  the  Persians,  60, 
166;   about  scent,  277;   storks, 
277  ;  how  to  cure  sore  eyes,  280 ; 
killing    goats    and   sheep,   281  ; 
Sheikh  matti,  281  ;  to  cure  fover 
and  avert  hydrophobia,  282 
Surgery,  native,    153;    not   much 

practised  in  Mosul,  318 
Swearing,  prevalence  of,  240 


Tabriz,  117 

Takhtiravan,   the,  as  a   moans  of 

travelling,  25 
Tea,  Persian,  99 
Teheran,  arrival  in,  26  ;  the  climate 


of,  51  ;  social  life,  71 ;  execution 

of  the  Bab,  118 
"  Telling  the  Beads,"  67 
Theft,  prevalence  of  potty,  238 
Tigris,  the,  frozen,  180  ;  navigation 

of  the,  184,  198  ;  Hiddekel,  199  ; 

steamers  on,  200  ;  bathing,  203 ; 

fishing,  206  ;  the  ferry-boat,  207  ; 

importance  of  the  navigation  of, 

328 

Tobacco  growing,  49 
Towers  of  Silence,  the,  128 
Travelling  in  Persia,  different  ways 

of,  23, 63,  66  ;  in  the  desert,  131, 

294 
Truth  lightly  regarded,  237 


U 

Umayya,  an  ancient  tribe,  178 
Uncle  Goro  of  Tel  Kaif,  the  story 
of,  273 


Visiting  in  Mosul,  226-8 

W 

Wagons  as  a  means  of  travelling, 
25 

Wuilors,  professional,  at  funerals, 
248 

Walling-up  as  a  capital  punish- 
ment, 138 

Water-supply,  the,  48 

Weaving  at  Mosul,  183 

"  Weavers,"  children  employed  as, 
44 

Wedding,  a,  97 

among  the  Parsees,  a,  123 

Weddings,  marriage  portions,  244 ; 
negotiations,  245 ;  preliminary 
feasting,  247 


335 


INDEX 


Wheat  and  barley,  the  cultivation 
of,  49 

Women,  curiosity  of  the,  62 ; 
characters,  84 ;  anderoons,  68, 
87 ;  costume,  95  ;  as  beauty 
specialists,  104 ;  cruel  and  re- 
vengeful nature  of,  105  ;  Parsee, 
122;  hysteria  amongst,  161; 
Arab,  191 

of  Mosul,  the,  219  ;  types, 

219,  220  ;  aids  to  beauty,  221  ; 
hopeless  condition  of,  223  ;  want 
of  love  in  the  life  of,  230 ;  facility 
of  divorce,  232 ;  and  Paradise, 
235;  Naseeb,  235;  fighting 
amongst,  241  ;  the  hammam, 
242  ;  never  know  their  age,  276  ; 
superstitious,  277 


Yalch  khaneh,  the,  or  ice-house,  53 

Yezd,  a  City  of  Sand,  19  ;  the  effect 

of  an  eclipse  at,  21  ;  Jews  at.  29  ; 


silk-weaving,  46  ;  the  hot  season, 
53  ;  the  "  chimneys "  of,  54  ; 
cellars  as  dwelling-rooms,  54  ; 
scorpions,  55  ;  Prince  and  Prin- 
cess, 92 ;  persecution  of  Babis, 
119;  Parsees,  120;  fire  temples, 
122  ;  brick  pillars,  139  ;  Medical 
Mission,  164  ;  opium  habit,  167 
Yezidees,  or  devil- worshippers,  284 ; 
Mohammedan  bitterness  against 
them,  284  ;  tenets  of,  285  ;  Lay- 
ard  and  the,  286  ;  the  peacock, 
286  ;  fire-worship,  287  ;  orders  of 
priesthood,  287  ;  prayer  stones, 
292 ;  costume,  292 


Zendavesta,  or  sacred  book  of  the 

Parsees,  121 

Zil-es-Sultan,  anderoon  of  the,  93 
Governor  of  Isphahan,  143, 

165 

Zoroaster,  120 
Zoroastrians,  or  Parsees,  19,  28 


Printed  by  BALLANTYNE,  HANSON  &"  Co. 
Edinburgh  6*  London 


H  ARABIA. 


S  CASPIAN        TERB 
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University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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